Warm Days
by LtStorm
Summary: Rumors around school have really been messing with Kagura's selfimage. Have they made her realize things about herself she had never noticed before, or have they only confused her? Shoujoai. More to come.
1. Warm Days: Chapter 1

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

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**Warm Days**

It was a nice and sunny January morning, barely any clouds in the sky. Kagura had hardly noticed as she ran along the sidewalk, checking her watch every few steps to make sure she wasn't late yet. She arrived just a few minutes before the bell, quickly heading to change her shoes. Grabbing her bag off the floor where she'd set it, Kagura turned towards the stairs, stumbling to stop a few steps into a run as she met three girls she recognized vaguely from her old home room with Miss Kurosawa.

"Hey guys, nice morning, isn't it?" Kagura said out of reflex.

The middle girl, Sayuri, smiled. The most well spoken one as Kagura recalled. The other two seemed to silently elect her to speak for them. Sayuri looked to cast around for what to say, finally speaking in a demure voice; "We heard about…it, Miss Kagura…."

"Heard about what?" Kagura responded at once, an air of confusion setting in around her.

The smallest girl, Haruka, grinned and said in a suggestive voice, "You know…."

Glancing around, Kagura laughed nervously, "I don't know what you're talking about, guys."

Giggling, Haruka shot back in a now cheerful voice, "That you're going out with Miss Kurosawa, silly."

Sayuri nodded, "We think it's great that you had the courage to come out of the closet, and we support you all the way on your choice."

It took Kagura a moment to process what had been said, her hand suddenly tightening on the handle of her book bag when she did. Finally, she whispered in the most controlled voice she could manage, "You think I'm going out with Miss Kurosawa?"

The three nodded in unison, Sayuri keeping the demure tone of her voice despite looking more than a little uncomfortable now, "Sorry if it wasn't supposed to get out…We thought it'd been going on for a while, and you had finally decided to make it public."

Though she now looked like a teakettle going through a slow boil, Kagura's voice remained unwavering in its cold and controlled tone, "Who did you hear this from?"

The three girls looked at one another, Haruka finally saying, "A guy in our class, Kenta, was asking us if it was true when we got here."

"How many people have heard this," was Kagura's next question.

"Well…" Sayuri took a step back in unison with the other girls, "We seemed to be the last ones in our class to find out, uh, and we should be going, it's almost time for the bell." The three turned, heading up the stairs at a quick pace.

Staring after them for a moment, Kagura sullenly began to follow, giving them enough time to be well out of her way by the time she reached the door of her homeroom. She slid the door open, stepping in and glancing over the other students who were already there. The bell had rung when she was mounting the last flight of stairs, not that it mattered with Ms. Tanizaki's tendency to be a good five minutes late.

It looked like the rumor hadn't made its way to this class yet, or at least, everyone was good at pretending it hadn't. She took her seat, hanging her book bag from the hook on her desk and turned to face the front of the room, keeping her eyes from wandering to the other students for fear of finding out they did know. The room's door was flung open harshly and Ms. Tanizaki marched in, shutting it in a similar manner behind her. Ms. Tanizaki went to the board immediately, moodily scrawling their assignment for the day down before taking a seat at her desk and putting her head down to sleep.

The day was becoming worse and worse for Kagura. The rumor she had hoped would just be some silly piece of gossip that would be lost by the next period seemed to be doing quite the opposite. Each class she went to had more people that she cold tell were whispering behind her back. By the time lunch rolled around it seemed that every boy in the school was laughing behind her back, and all the girls were looking at her like she was going to jump on them any moment and tear their clothes off.

It was becoming unbearable for her; she wanted to curl up in a corner and cry. After giving whoever started the rumor the beating of their life. Lunch was welcomed because now she could get down to business in finding out where the rumor came from, and put a hurting on the source. She could only vaguely remember what Kenta looked like, thankful to find him sitting alone in his home room to eat lunch when she began the embarrassing process of questioning each person for who they heard the rumor from to track it back to the source.

After spending half of lunch on trips to the lunchroom to find more people and back to her old homeroom, all the while gaining more whispering voices behind her back, she finally came to stand over a desk filled by a small girl with short dark hair and a timid look to her. The girl was obviously attempting to ignore Kagura looming before her, keeping her eyes down and her chopsticks steadily moving between her bento box and her mouth.

In an unquestioning voice Kagura growled, "You're Mayu," watching the girl quiver slightly as she nodded, setting down her chopsticks so she could wring her napkin nervously. Placing her hands on the edge of the desk, Kagura said in a low voice, "The other girls said you're the first one in the room to hear this thing about me. Who did you hear it from?"

Looking as if she were about to cry, Mayu continued to wring her napkin nervously, "M-My cat got out of the house this morning and I was trying to catch him. I was behind someone's bushes trying to coax him out, and I heard one of those girls you're friends with in room 3-3 say it…."

Her brows knitting, Kagura opened her mouth a few times, trying to imagine which one of her friends would ever do something like this to her, and why. "What was the girl that said it like?" she finally mumbled.

"The one that's sort of loud, and always challenging people to contests…." Mayu's voice seemed even more timid than before as she cowered under Kagura's glare.

Releasing the desk, Kagura stormed across the room, her imagination supplying a million and one appropriate ways to kill Tomo. She flung open the door, heading down the hall for room 3-3, attempting to compose herself at least partially so she wouldn't make a scene.

Chiyo, Sakaki, and Osaka were sitting next to each other to eat their lunches, Tomo and Yomi nowhere in sight. Still doing her best to avoid losing her temper at them, Kagura stalked over to where they sat, saying through gritted teeth, "Where's Tomo?"

Chiyo smiled up at her cutely, "Good morning, Ms. Kagura. I think Tomo went to the bathroom."

There was a barely audible cough that drew their attention, save for Osaka who was attempting to evenly break a pair of chopsticks, several awkwardly separated pair already laying around her untouched lunch on the desk. Sakaki wiped her mouth daintily with a pink kitty-print handkerchief, then looking up at Kagura, "I saw Tomo walking towards the stairs to the roof at the beginning of lunch."

Despite her face being locked in a scowl, Kagura nodded and bowed politely, thanking the three before heading out of the room at a quick pace, ignoring Chiyo's voice asking if anything was wrong. As soon as she was out of the room Kagura broke into a full run, her temper rising as she headed for the stairs. Turning the corner into the last hall before the stairs, Kagura slid to a stop, nearly colliding with Tomo who had been running in the opposite direction.

For a moment, the two stared at each other, Tomo then grinning and saying, "Don't tell me you pigged out and finished your lunch already."

Her whole body tensed, Kagura's voiced quivered as she snarled, "Were you the one that made everyone think that?"

Tomo's grin remained, "What, that you're a pi—"

"That I'm gay, that I'm going out with Miss Kurosawa, did you tell everyone that," Kagura shouted over her. If she'd been in better control of herself, Kagura would be thankful where they were in the hall was mostly deserted; only a few other students were overhearing the scene.

Her grin gone now, Tomo opened her mouth several times, unable to find the words to defend herself. How could this have happened, what were the odds of someone hearing her and telling everyone else? It was her loud mouth, why'd she have to yell it like that?

Taking the silence as an admission of guilt, Kagura continued her verbal attack, "And then you were up here hiding on the roof from me!"

"Kagura, I wasn't hiding," Tomo said quickly, hoping Yomi would be down any second to talk some sense into Kagura.

"Then what were you doing? You don't even have a coat on!" Kagura felt her anger waning into depression quickly. As much as she wanted to hit Tomo, her arms refused to move as she yelled, "What the hell did I do to you? Why would you do this to me? You rui—"

Backing away for fear of being struck Tomo had to shout back to make herself heard, "Kagura, I—it, I was just kidding!"

For a tense moment Kagura was silent, her hands balling into fists, "THIS WAS JUST A JOKE TO YOU? You ruined my reputation, what the hell were you thinking?"

Tomo cowered away in fear, arms up to guard her face and eyes shut out of fear as she waited for her beating. After a few seconds where she didn't feel Kagura pummeling her mercilessly, Tomo risked opening her eyes to see why. Her hands still balled into fists, Kagura's whole body was quivering, her eyes shut tightly as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Lowering her arms slowly, Tomo's throat still felt tight, "Kagura…?" She flinched when the tanned girl turned suddenly, sprinting down the hall with one arm up to hide her eyes. Watching until Kagura was out of sight down the hall, Tomo felt the fear of physical harm leave her to be replaced by a heavy feeling of guilt.

It was a surprise to Kagura that she didn't crash into anything as she ran. Her eyes already clouded with tears, she kept her arm up in front of them, watching the ground just in front of her feet as she ran. Down the stairs and out of the school's side door, she headed straight for the pool house, where she always came for refuge when there were no others around. She was thankful, though not surprised, to find the pool house empty. Slumping onto the bench before the locker she used during the warmer months, she rested her elbows on her knees, her face covered with her hands as she began to sob uncontrollably.

It had been a long morning for Minamo Kurosawa. She felt like the whole world new a secret they didn't want to share with her. While her classes this morning had been more attentive than they ever seemed to be, very few of her students appeared interested in learning so much as staring at her like she was going to do a trick at any moment. On top of this, it seemed all her co-workers were having important conversations in hushed tones, right until she came within earshot of them. For once she wished she were Yukari so it would be fully in character for her to rudely intrude on their conversation and ask what it was about.

At least lunch was something to look forward to. Minamo took a seat at her desk in the teacher's workroom, undoing the handkerchief covering her lunch. She took up her chop sticks, digging in and barely managing to savor the first bite before a strong hand clapped down on her shoulder causing her to nearly choke on the noodles. Managing to swallow without coughing, Minamo slowly turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the principal of the school, Mr. Ichikawa, staring down at her grimly. "Y-Yes sir?" She hated the quaver that entered her voice when she was nervous.

Mr. Ichikawa stepped back, motioning towards the door to his office, "Ms. Kurosawa, may I have a word with you in private?"

Nodding, Minamo wiped her mouth quickly and slid from her chair, heading for the office door. She could feel the stares of her co-workers burning into the back of her head. Inside the office a sudden foreboding feeling hit her, making her knees feel weak as the door to the office snapped shut ominously behind her.

"Please, sit," the principal said, motioning to the chair set before his desk as he moved around to take his own desk chair. Nodding dumbly, Minamo slumped into the chair, feeling anxious over not being able to imagine what her boss was going to say.

Behind his desk again, the principal leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers forebodingly. For a moment, Minamo would swear his eyes were boring holes down to her very soul. She'd never seen him look at anyone other than Yukari like this.

"Ms. Kurosawa…" finally with some of the severity seeping from his stance and voice he said, "I do hope that the rumor I have heard today has been greatly exaggerated. More than one of my staff have mentioned it to me in passing."

Smiling nervously, Minamo tried to calm herself. It was just rumor control; he'd probably been talking to all the other teachers like this today, right? "May I ask what this was…?"

"That you have been forcing a student into a relationship with you," he said, as if it were some mildly interesting piece of news.

For a short moment Minamo looked around the room, expecting to see Yukari half-hidden somewhere, barely able to contain her laughter. "I'm sorry…?" she asked incredulously.

Mr. Ichikawa smiled vaguely, looking relieved that she was as shocked as anyone to hear the so-called news, "Yes, a rumor that you were using your power as a teacher to force a girl into a relationship with yourself."

Minamo felt like an icy arrow had been shot through her heart on the word 'girl.' She was thankful to be seated; her knees felt weak as jelly. Failing to control the quaver in her voice she spouted quickly, "T-That's, that's—of course not!"

Nodding, the principal leaned back in his chair, removing his glasses and a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his jacket to clean them with, "I understand that these rumors crop up every once in a while. At the start of last semester, a girl lodged a complaint that Mr. Kimura was stalking her after she was moved to his homeroom. Mr. Kimura requested she be moved simply so he could give her more help with Classics, a class she was already excelling in. I am to assume that this is the exact same reason you have been having these _private_ swimming sessions with Ms. Kagura?"

Nodding frantically and rising from her chair, Minamo spouted quickly, "Of course, sir, I wouldn't dream of forcing myself on a student, sir!"

The principal leaned forward again, Minamo taking her seat once more on his unsaid command. "I do recognize that the students in our school are past the legal age of consent, and thus, a teacher holding such a relationship with one would not technically be illegal. However, using any form of coercion because of your position in this school could be very dangerous to our reputation. And any teacher, who was to do such a thing, and especially get it publicized by the media, would have to be removed for the sake of the rest of the school. Do I make myself clear, Ms. Kurosawa?"

Swallowing hard, Minamo nodded solemnly, her hands shaking in her lap, "Yes sir, of course sir."

Nodding back in agreement, Mr. Ichikawa stood, walking around the edge of his desk, "Now that that nasty bit of business has been cleared up, please forgive me for interrupting your lunch hour."

Minamo got to her feet, her knees still feeling weak as she followed the principal to the door where he held it open for her. Bowing slightly as she exited, Minamo headed back to her desk, quickly gathering up her lunch and leaving the workroom at a quick pace. She could still feel the accusing glares of her co-workers as she left. The students in the halls looked away as she passed them, making her feel uncomfortable in ways she'd never felt amongst students. Down the stairs and out the side door, she headed for the pool house, hoping to get her appetite back and finish her lunch before the end of the hour.

Pushing open the door to the girl's changing room, Minamo paused behind the privacy wall. She listened to the soft sobbing coming from near the lockers, feeling her heart jump awkwardly as she realized Kagura was the only one it could be. She slowly inched from behind the privacy wall, trying to appear as relaxed and normal as she always did despite the disturbing fluttering in her stomach. The younger girl not noticing her, she called to her softly, trying to keep her voice from quivering nervously.

Kagura's head snapped up from her knees and she gawked at Minamo in surprise for a moment, slowly uncurling and resting her feet on the floor again as Minamo took a seat beside her, placing the lunch box between them. The two sat in an uneasy silence for a minute, finally broken by Minamo who said, "I guess you heard, then." A slight nod from Kagura confirmed the obvious answer.

Removing a napkin from the lunch box, Minamo continued, "Rumors like this get started all the time, you just can't let it get to you." She held the napkin out to Kagura, who took it to wipe her eyes and blow her nose on.

"Why does everyone want to believe this stupid gossip," Kagura sniffled again as tears returned to her eyes, "everyone in the school is talking about it now."

"I don't know," Minamo replied as she leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, "Mr. Ichikawa even called me to his office at the start of lunch to confirm I wasn't forcing myself on a student like he'd heard."

Kagura stared at her incredulously, mumbling, "forcing yourself on me…?" She sighed, slumping slightly, "This morning they were just saying we were together."

"Guess the rumor got a bit twisted as it travel—" Minamo and Kagura both jumped in surprise as the door to the locker room was flung open.

Yukari stormed around the corner of the privacy wall yelling, "DAMMIT NYAMO! You're even using school property to make out with her, a student!" as she stomped across the room.

Rising to her feet quickly, Minamo yelled back, "What the hell are you talking about, it's just a rumor!"

Pointing accusingly at Minamo, Yukari moved closer until her finger was nearly touching Minamo's nose, "That letter you wrote me was all the blackmail I had for you! How the hell am I supposed to use it if everyone knows, dammit!"

Growling, Minamo slapped Yukari's hand away, shouting, "THAT'S WHY YOU'RE MAD? Get out of here, Yukari!" The two stared at each other angrily, Kagura still sitting on the bench, long forgotten. After a long moment Yukari blinked, turning away with a grunt of arrogance she stomped towards the door, mumbling curses under her breath and slamming it behind her.

Staying on the bench, Kagura stared up at Minamo who still stood rigidly until Yukari was long gone, then finally slumping back to sit on the bench, looking like she was deflating as her head sank to rest in her hands. Kagura strained to listen, expecting to hear soft sobs from Minamo who instead sat up after a moment, smiling weakly to Kagura and saying, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

Shaking her head, Kagura felt her stomach growl as if on command, "I was sort of busy trying to find out who started the rumor…."

Minamo undid the wrapping on her lunch box, picking it up to offer to Kagura, "You can have some of my lunch if you don't mind using my chop sticks…." Nodding, Kagura reluctantly took the lunch box to rest it in her lap, eating slowly, wondering why her cheeks felt so warm all of a sudden.

The two sat in silence, Minamo trying to resist glancing over at Kagura too much, feeling the uneasy fluttering still in her stomach, keeping her appetite away. Slowly she let her eyes travel over to Kagura, who looked back at her after a moment, still chewing a mouthful of noodles. Smiling slightly, Minamo picked up one of the clean napkins, wiping away a piece of stray food stuck at the corner of Kagura's mouth. The two held each other's gaze for a long moment, both looking away suddenly in embarrassment.

Slowly setting the chopsticks down across the lunch box, Kagura held it towards Minamo and said softly, "You want the rest?" Despite her lack of appetite Minamo took the food, beginning to eat slowly, anything to keep her occupied. After another quiet moment, seemingly out of nowhere, Kagura said, "What did Ms. Tanizaki mean about that letter?"

Minamo choked on the piece of croquette she had just put in her mouth, coughing until Kagura slapped her on the back to help her clear her throat. Still breathing heavily Minamo said in a strained voice, "It doesn't matter, it was nothing." She put the chopsticks down, beginning to bundle up the almost emptied lunch box, "Lunch is almost over, and it would just make things more suspicious if we were both late for our next classes."

Kagura frowned, nodding anyway and getting to her feet when Minamo did, feeling torn between respecting the teacher's privacy and prying further into the question. The two walked together back to the school, parting ways inside to take different stairways up to their next classes. The class was a blur for Kagura as she spent the whole period staring out the window, lost in thought. When the end of the day had finally arrived the whispering around Kagura had grown further, yet she was thankful to not hear any new parts added about what her and Ms. Kurosawa were doing in the pool house together.

Though Kagura still felt she should be angry with Tomo, she was having trouble remembering it now. After changing her shoes and pulling her jacket on she turned to see Chiyo, Osaka, and Sakaki waiting for her just outside the front doors. As she walked out to meet them Kagura hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. "Hey guys," she said with a smile, wondering how they could not have heard the rumor at some point during the day. The only unusual response she could see as they returned her greeting was Sakaki's empty gaze lingering over her for a moment longer than usual.

The four walked in silence through the cold afternoon, Kagura keeping her eyes on the ground not far ahead and her hands shoved deeply into her pockets as her mind wandered about her emotions reflectively. She vaguely heard Osaka talking about what the clouds above were shaped like. The next thing she knew, Chiyo was asking her for the second time if they hadn't walked past her house. Kagura's eyes snapped to the small girl quickly, then trailing to the other two who stared at her as well. She felt her face redden, realizing they had passed her house a block back.

"Did you want to come over to see Mr. Tadakichi and Maya?" Chiyo said in a questioning voice, then adding with a smile, "Ms. Sakaki always spends the afternoon playing with them." The tall girl nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. "Are you okay?" Chiyo asked then, a look of concern on her face.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Kagura replied quickly, lowering her book bag from where she had it slung over her shoulder. "I was just day dreaming, I guess."

Seemingly out of nowhere came the question, "Was it about Ms. Kurosawa?" Everyone turned to stare at Osaka who had paused from her cloud searching for the moment. Between the confused look from Chiyo and the burning blush of Kagura, Osaka seemed to feel the need to elaborate. "I heard people talking about you dating Ms. Kurosawa today," she added in an innocent tone.

Kagura could feel her cheeks burning, her grip tightening on the handle of her book satchel as her rage towards Tomo blossomed anew, "It was just a rumor…." She was having to fight back tears, turning away from the others and saying quickly before Osaka had a chance to respond, "I have to get my chores done before dark, I really need to get home, see you at school tomorrow." As she trotted away at a quick pace she could hear the three bidding her goodbye as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Walking in the front door of her home Kagura stepped out of her shoes, heading to her room immediately, her book satchel dropped just inside its door before she flung herself onto the twin bed. She hugged her pillow for comfort, wanting to kick herself as she tried to compose herself. Why was she even crying? Someone was going to ask eventually, she knew that. She had even expected it to be Osaka, or worse yet, Yomi, who would smirk bemusedly and ask if it really was just a rumor after Kagura had explained it.

Kagura drew a deep shaky breath and buried her face in her pillow. Having finally calmed herself, her mind wandered back to the thoughts from before her emotional interlude. It wasn't long before she was falling asleep in the quickly darkening room. Her last thought before she left consciousness was wondering what the letter Ms. Tanizaki had referred to could possibly have been about, followed by Ms. Kurosawa's embarrassed avoidance of explaining it.

_End Chapter 1._

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Okay, so, this took way longer to write than I'd expected. Chapter 3 of Cold Nights shouldn't take that long, as it's still mostly finished. I decided that while this fic is technically separate from Cold Nights, it's so intertwined it might as well be posted as parts of it. I may go back later and separate them depending on how far this goes.

And in case anyone is wondering, the letter Yukari is referring to is the same one mentioned in one of the early episodes of the anime (Episode 3, or around there?). As far as the series shows, it's a love letter of some sort she's apparently holding against Nyamo to keep Nyamo from ever talking about Yukari's personal life or past. _  
_

_"Fluffy fluffy Azumanga lovin'...I love you so much!_

_Yeah, please do make stories for a few of the other characters...I'd personally love to see Yukari and Kagura go at it for Nyamo "_-JMcConnor

Already on it. Not sure exactly where this is going to go, though I do have a good idea or two. Or should I say, I'm not sure who all this is going to involve in it.

_"thumbs up Yayy! Good work, but a Chiyo romance while they're in high school... shudders Makes me feel like a pedophile just thinkin' about it. Keep up the awesome, shoujo-ai-happiness in this story and I will be forever grateful."_-Lady Tiger

I think the fic Azumanga Daioh Six Plus is about the best and only Chiyo romance I could imagine happening (The 'six plus' part referring to how many years after the series it takes place). Her and Osaka are sort of getting left out in the cold here, as even though Osaka is the same age as the other older girls, anything romantic involving her just feels...odd.

_"good story very believable. Not to be a jerk, but I don't know about the nyamo/kagura thing. If anything i'd say kagura/sakaki and nyamo/yukari. though I don't think sakaki is really even interested in the thought of dating at all right now. Any ways loved the story. very nice hope you get the 3 chapter out soon.  
p.s. Defiantly going on my alert lists."_-Saintbeast

Thanks, and yeah, Nyamo/Kagura is a bit of an odd one. Though this fic is starting out that way, whether it stays on that path may or may not happen. We'll see when I get the next chapters hashed out and written down.

To those of you who left reviews that I haven't answered directly or spoken to in another medium, all I can say is thank you for reading, I'm glad you like the fic and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapters as well..

Coming up: Chapter 3 of Cold Nights, Tomo and Yomi's first official date.


	2. Warm Days: Chapter 2

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

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**Warm Days  
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Chapter 2 _  
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_Kagura loved the feeling of the short freefall as she left the high dive, just before she touched the water. With as small a splash as possible she disappeared into the deep blue pool for a few short moments before coming up for air after touching the bottom. Looking around her, Kagura smiled satisfactorily, enjoying having the pool to herself. The floats that marked the swim lanes hadn't been put up yet, so she had the whole big pool open to her. Moving towards the shallow end she dove under, torpedoing forward, intending to do some more stretches in the shallows before getting down to swimming laps. Opening her eyes under the water, she saw the murky outline of a blue school swimsuit floating a ways ahead of her. Standing up once in the shallows Kagura felt an odd sensation overtake her body as she rubbed water from her eyes. A look down revealed her fears; the bathing suit had to be her's, as it certainly wasn't on her anymore._

_A wave of intense embarrassment turning her face a dark red, Kagura dropped down to neck level in the water, crossing her arms as she did a slow crab walk towards the floating swim suit, looking around in hope she was still alone as she came within reach of it. A familiar voice drew her attention to the high dive. Ms. Kurosawa waved to her before diving in, disappearing under the surface of the water with an almost perfect dive. Her mind racing for an explanation, Kagura looked down at the swimsuit in her hand, another swimsuit floating in the water by her legs catching her attention. She looked up, seeing Ms. Kurosawa moving towards her still under water, just as naked. Unable to make herself move, Kagura watched as Ms. Kurosawa came to stand before her, smiling beckoningly. From somewhere behind her, Kagura heard a voice say, "For dinner, Kagura."_

Kagura jerked awake, pushing herself up on her hands and knees on the bed, spouting, "What?" in confusion. She stared at her mother who stood in the doorway of her room frowing, "I was saying you need to wake up, Kagura. It's time for dinner."

Sliding to sit on the edge of her bed as her mother left down the hall, Kagura pressed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart still racing. She was drenched in sweat, as if she'd been jogging for an hour. Unable to recall what exactly the dream was about, she wondered if it'd been a nightmare, an odd feeling below her stomach suggesting otherwise.

Getting to her feet she felt wobbly as images of the dream came back to her suddenly. The scene she saw sliding through her mind made her blush, had she really dreamed about Ms. Kurosawa? Heading to the bathroom, Kagura washed her face quickly, staring at herself in the mirror then. It had just been a weird dream because of the day's emotional stress, hadn't it?

Kagura spent most of dinner trying to push the dream out of her mind and keep it out. The effort left her picking at her food enough to draw her father's attention, who said in what passed for his warm voice, "Is there something wrong, Kagura?"

Her attention snapping quickly to her father, Kagura said in a stammer, "N-no, nothing," then adding quickly, "I just had a lot to do at school today." Pushing her half-finished plate away, Kagura began to rise, "I'm gonna go for a jog, to try to clear my mind."

Her father nodded in reply gruffly, her mother adding a plea for her to stay inside and out of the cold. After a trip to her room to change clothes, Kagura shut the front door behind herself as she stepped out into the night air. The street was barren and the air was eerily still as she was doing warm-up stretches. Only the distant traffic in the city was audible to her. Putting on the earphones for her CD player, Kagura hit the 'play' button and started her jog.

Her father had long ago driven from their house along the jogging path she used and found the half-mile mark so she could make a mile with a round trip to it. By the time she'd reached the mark, a light post on a street corner that was always covered in flyers and ads, Kagura still didn't feel like she'd burned off any of her restless energy. She continued on down the street as she met the edge of the neighborhood and passed a larger apartment building. As she finally felt like turning around, it suddenly dawned on Kagura where her feet had taken her. She stared up at the neatly utilitarian apartment complex before her, looking at the third floor window, second on the left, where Ms. Kurosawa lived.

A part of her made Kagura want to head up the stairs to Ms. Kurosawa's apartment. The dream from earlier's effect still hadn't worn off fully, and now the whole thing was burning back into her mind. Turning quickly and starting back homeward, Kagura repeatedly told herself any questions she had could wait until morning. As she ran she began to push herself harder and harder, hoping the burn of her muscles would drown out the dream and strange feelings it brought with it.

Arriving home, Kagura was more winded than usual, still trying to catch her breath as she did warm-down stretches. Going inside, she locked the door behind her, removing her running shoes and heading straight for the bathroom to shower. Her legs were still burning as she peeled off the jogging suit. The heat of the shower was relaxing on her sore muscles as she stood under the spray. The hot water running over her body felt like it was carrying away her worries along with the sweat and grime. Leaning back against the wall, Kagura ran a hand down her stomach, not realizing that her thoughts had once again turned back to the dream. As the hand passed below her waist Kagura sighed contently, sliding down the wall a bit.

Her moment of intimacy was shattered by a booming knock at the bathroom door. Kagura slipped and nearly fell in the shower as she tried to compose herself, turning quickly to keep her back to the frosted shower door. She could hear her mother saying loudly, "Kagura, the refrigerator's drain backed up, I need some towels!" The lock on the bathroom door was bypassed and her mother entered, quickly retrieving several towels from the linen closet. Inside the shower Kagura's heart was beating faster than it had been at the peak of her jog.

_End Chapter 2._

* * *

So, this is a short chapter. I've had it sitting finished for the past month while I work out the next parts, and finally decided to go ahead and upload this, as it takes place the same day as the first chapter. I also decided to separate Warm Days from Cold Nights, as they're sort of independent stories, though they do reference each other some. Hopefully I can start moving a bit quicker on the next chapter. Happy reading.  



	3. Warm Days: Chapter 3

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Warm Days**

Chapter 3

It was a cool Friday evening that Kagura found herself spending on a bench in front of the neighborhood pharmacy, shifting between watching the sky and watching the people around her. The past week she had blown off her friends, her parents, and usually her homework as well. It wasn't that she didn't want to be involved or anything, she had in fact been _trying_ to involve herself in things that could distract her from her own thoughts. So far, however, it wasn't working. It was likely beginning to worry her parents that all she had been doing for the past couple of days was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling, taking long jogs, and even longer showers. 

Now that she was actually there Kagura wished she had planned something to do with her friends. The Sun had already gone down long ago and it seemed much too late to try to organize anything. Not ready to go home yet, Kagura rose from the bench and thrust her hands into her pockets, setting off in the opposite direction of her house. As she neared the edge of the shopping district, Kagura saw a familiar figure through the crowd that filled the sidewalk. Sakaki was standing outside of a toy store, staring through the front window, an unusual small smile on her face.

Kagura couldn't help but smile as well, happy to find some company, as she sidled up next to Sakaki, unnoticed. The store's front window display was so crammed with all manner of toys it was impossible to tell exactly what it was Sakaki was looking at. After a few minutes of gazing, Sakaki turned towards the store's door, stopping short with a momentary look of shock as she nearly ran into Kagura. Flashing her a grin, Kagura said in a curious voice, "What're you up to?"

There was a short awkward silence, Sakaki finally seeming to gather herself and saying in a voice nearly inaudible out on the crowded sidewalk, "I was headed to the arcade." She stepped around Kagura, starting up the sidewalk, Kagura falling in step beside her.

Video games suddenly seemed like a painfully obvious way for Kagura to get rid of her frustrations. She certainly enjoyed the time spent with Sakaki challenging each other in the arcade. Sakaki was both a better challenge as well as a better winner _and_ loser than Tomo could ever hope to be. Her mind locked suddenly back on the betrayal she had suffered from Tomo. At that same instant the crowd parted, and Kagura froze as she locked eyes with Tomo. During the short moment their gazes met, Kagura felt the seething rage she held towards Tomo building up again, with new parts added to it.

The words, "What're you two up to?" brought Kagura back to reality.

Kagura broke off the staring contest with Tomo, looking to Yomi. "We were headed to the arcade," she paused for a moment, her curiosity being piqued over not seeing Chiyo and Osaka around. "Where were you two coming from? Did you see a movie together?"

To Kagura's surprise, Yomi began to squirm like she was being interrogated by the police. After an awkward moment where Kagura wondered what the problem was, Yomi finally managed to get out, "Ah, we—" before being obnoxiously cut off by Tomo, "Yomi bet me dinner I couldn't sit through a movie without getting up and going to the snack bar and bathroom fifty billion times. She lost, and now she's gotta pay up!"

Kagura nodded, unable to say anything else before Tomo had grabbed Yomi's arm to drag her past her and Sakaki, saying in her usual embarrassingly loud voice, "And now we gotta go, 'cause I gotta go!"

After the pair had disappeared into the crowd, Kagura looked to Sakaki, who looked back blankly. With a shrug, Kagura turned and started for the arcade once more, Sakaki trailing close behind her. Without incident they arrived at the arcade, a large darkened and noisy room lit erratically by the screens of the various game machines that lined the walls.

Pushing through the writhing crowd, Kagura and Sakaki had to keep close to one another for fear of losing each other. As they neared the back of the room Kagura pointed to one of the older arcade cabinets that had just become free. Sakaki agreed wordlessly to play that game first, and the two moved in, taking up the controls and inserting their coins.

The dark arcade and tantalizing flash of the games it held made time stretch in odd ways. After what seemed like just a few rounds on the game machines Kagura realized two hours had passed. At the end of the latest game the two were evenly matched overall, as usual. While Kagura was better at some games than Sakaki, and vice versa, in the end, this was how it always panned out.

Leaning up to Sakaki's ear, Kagura nearly had to shout to make herself heard, "You wanna get something to drink?" The taller girl nodded in reply, her face coloring as Kagura grabbed her by the wrist to lead out of the arcade. As she navigated a winding path through the crowd, the set of claw machines that filled a small alcove by the arcade's entrance caught Kagura's eye. Detouring past the exit, she brought Sakaki over to the machines, finally releasing the taller girl's wrist, flashing a smile back at her, "Can't leave without at least one try on these."

Kagura inserted a coin into the machine, then taking up the control stick and maneuvering the claw inside around, trying to decide what to make a grab for. After being carefully lowered, the claw rose once more, a small pink dog-like stuffed animal in its clutches. Taking the toy dog from the machine's prize chute, Kagura gave it a scrutinizing look, mumbling, "Dang, I was going for the lizard keychain." She then looked to Sakaki, holding the pink dog out in the palm of her hand, "You want it?"

A look of surprise and embarrassment covering her face, Sakaki nodded, taking the toy reluctantly. Kagura stepped away from the machine so Sakaki could have her turn, taking to watching the sidewalk through the window next to the claw machines.

After a few moments Kagura turned as she was tapped on the shoulder, looking up at Sakaki who's face held an unsure look. Sakaki spoke in a voice barely loud enough to be audible as usual, "Uh, you can have this…." She thrust out her hand, Kagura taking the small lizard key chain from it and holding it up to look at.

Their gazes locked for a moment, both then looking away quickly, Kagura saying, "Thanks…uh, we were gonna get something to drink, right?" Sakaki nodded in response. The two stayed silent as they left the arcade, walking down the sidewalk towards their neighborhood idly until they came to a set of drink machines set against a barren building wall.

The exertion of playing the games, aided greatly by the almost tropical atmosphere of the arcade due to the throng of people in it, had been enough to get them both sweating. After unbuttoning her jacket to let it hang open, Kagura wiped her forehead on its sleeve, then looking back to Sakaki, "What're you gonna get?" Looking over the machines for a moment, Sakaki raised her hand to point at a selection from the juice machine. Looking at it herself, Kagura said, "That looks good" as she inserted a yen note into the machine and hit the button. Readying another yen note, she picked up the can after it clanked out of the machine, holding it out to Sakaki, "Here, my treat."

Her cheeks coloring, Sakaki reluctantly took the can, holding it in both hands with her eyes locked on it for a moment as she tried to suppress the emotion rising in her. After getting her own can, Kagura popped it open, taking a big gulp, "Ah, that's better." The two began to walk again, simply going with the flow of the crowd. As they moved back into their neighborhood and the crowd dispersed, a silence grew between them. Kagura bided her time pensively, stealing glances at Sakaki as they walked. Finally, after looking around to be sure they were alone, Kagura said in a low voice, "You don't believe the rumors about me at school, do you?"

Caught off guard, Sakaki looked to Kagura quickly, her cheeks coloring as she fumbled for a response, managing to shake her head negatively finally. Their gazes locked, Kagura then added, "You wouldn't care if they were, though, right?" At a loss for an answer, Sakaki's mouth opened, then shut. The tense moment between them was broken when something lit in Kagura's hair, causing her to brush it away reflexively, feeling icy crystals on her fingers. Both looked up automatically, seeing the first large snowflakes as they began to fall with increasing frequency.

Grinning suddenly, Kagura said, "Aw, cool! We haven't had any decent snow in a while." She looked to Sakaki, the tense moment between them forgotten, "Better get home quick, or it'll start freezing in your hair!" Without thinking she grabbed Sakaki's wrist, pulling her along as she turned to run. Gasping as she was yanked forward, Sakaki's face once again reddened as they ran, and not from exertion.

_End Chapter 3._

* * *

The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. It has been a while, however. Life sort of got uprooted as I quit my job and moved off to another town for university. So, I guess things have just finally calmed down enough for me to get back to my hobbies, like writing this. Still on the chopping block other than Warm Days is a relatively short NGE fic starring Asuka/Rei, still on the backburner is a FMA fic starring either Winry/Schiezka, or Winry/Paninya. And I have to say, after spending the past week gobbling up shoujo-ai and/or girl/girl fics, Ginny/Cho from Harry Potter has become a new favorite pairing. Which also has some quite good fics written about it, so, probably not going to see anything on that one out of me. 

I'm not sure where this chapter even _came _from. It essentially poured in as a set up for the next to last paragraph. Ah well, it serves its purpose of setting up the possible Kagura/Sakaki pairing. Hopefully I can get myself back on track, though I might as well not even make any promises about it. Fourth chapter is on its way, hopefully soon, but don't quote me on that.

_"Hi there!_

_A short but good chapter as usual. The ending kind of shocked me a bit(then again, I'm reading outside of my zone)._

_Kagura's father seems like a rough man and I imagine that some serious drama would occur if he found out about Kagura's preferences._

_Poor Kagura; the people at school, the dream, and then accidentally finding Nyamo's apartment._

_About that part at the end, I'm glad you didn't get all descriptive about it. You just said what needed to be said in a polite way and I thank for you that._

_Update soon, but take your time!  
Rushia"_

Thanks. You've certainly been a regular reader (not to say there aren't other regular readers), which I appreciate. Still toying with ideas on what to do with her father, right now, though, it's about Kagura's confusion. Yeah, as said, that's as descriptive as it's going to get in this fic, which I somewhat regret now, as the plan that was going to use that later has changed. Still, I'll stand by it, as it still shows her confusion.

To those of you who left reviews I didn't respond to individually, all I can say is, thanks for reading, glad you're enjoying it.


	4. Warm Days: Chapter 4

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Warm Days**

Chapter 4

Kagura lay on her bed with eyes closed, lost in thought. Her mind was locked onto the kick of introspection it had been on for the past week. A new part had been added from the past night, which only muddled things more for her. She was tempted to take a nice long shower; it was late enough. Instead, despite having already been for both her morning and afternoon run, she rose from her bed and changed into her red jogging suit. Moving through the house, Kagura grabbed her key ring, hanging it by its strap around her neck. Her parents had gone out for the night, leaving her home alone. Locking the door behind her, she took a few minutes to do warm-up stretches before setting off down the street.

The evening air was invigorating as it whipped at her hair. Her feet carried her along the path she usually used, making a circuit the long way around by her school, then back homeward. As she was starting the last leg of her trip, she was surprised to see someone else out on the street, much less someone apparently not wearing a jacket. She slowed to a walk as she neared the person, getting within a few meters before realizing whom it was. In surprise, she spouted, "Tomo?"

Stepping closer, Kagura repeated the girl's name, this time causing Tomo to stop in her tracks and look up from her feet. The street light behind Kagura lit up Tomo's face, making it look even more sickly pale than it was. It seemed like it took Tomo a moment to even recognize her, turning away while mumbling incoherently when she did.

Still shocked from seeing Tomo out in the cold, Kagura moved closer, reaching to put her hand on Tomo's shoulder. The right thing to say at the time seemed like, "We have to get you home," but the response of Tomo twisting away from her grip and yelling, "I can't go home!" in a hoarse voice suggested otherwise.

The two stood staring at one another, Kagura still breathing heavily from her run, Tomo shivering from the cold. Unsure of why Tomo would refuse to go home, Kagura decided the next best thing would be to bring the girl back to her own home. She slowly moved up beside Tomo, placing her hands on the girl's shivering shoulders, saying, "Okay, we have to get you _some_where warm," as she began guiding Tomo down the street.

An awkward silence settled between them, broken only by Tomo's shivering breaths and the crunch of snow under their feet. The trip to Kagura's house felt twice as long as it normally would have. She guessed Tomo couldn't have been outside much more than an hour, though as cold as it was, that was dangerous enough. After unlocking the door, she directed Tomo through the house, not worrying about the snow they tracked in on the carpet. Tomo's whole body felt stiff somehow as Kagura guided her to sit on the couch. After removing the girl's shoes, Kagura lifted Tomo's legs and turned her to lie on the couch. She then ran to the linen closet, coming back with the heaviest blanket she could find to throw over Tomo.

Finally stopping for a moment to think, Kagura remembered the betrayal she had been served by Tomo. It was hard to suppress the little voice in her head that kept saying, "serves her right" as Kagura retrieved her address book and looked up Tomo's phone number. The panicked worry of finding what used to be a friend and rival out in the cold and ill-equipped for it still overrode any sort of animosity she could feel.

Finding the correct phone number, she paced apprehensively in the kitchen while dialing it. Having never met Tomo's parents, Kagura wasn't sure what to expect. The girl always seemed intent to be as much of a freeloader as possible and never have friends over to at her own house. After a few rings, the phone clicked as it was picked up, and a woman's measured voice said, _"Hello?"_

Trying to organize her thoughts as best she could, Kagura said in a quick voice, "Hi, this is Kagura, I'm a friend of Tomo's. I ran into her when I was out jogging, she didn't have a jacket on and looked really--" Reflexively she jerked the phone away from her ear as it popped from the phone on the other end being thrown down on its receiver. Staring at the handset for a moment, Kagura muttered to herself, "What was that about?"

The next best thing seemed to be calling Yomi. Though now Kagura wondered if Tomo had just managed to alienate everyone else around her, and if she was going to get the same response with this call. Dialing the phone once more, she listened intently, the phone being answered by the much warmer voice of Yomi's mother. After the obligatory greetings, Kagura asked to speak to Yomi, trying to pace herself better so she didn't ramble this time around. A moment passed and she heard the phone change hands, then Yomi saying in an anxious voice, _"Tomo?"_

Trying the avoid the awkward silence about to set in, Kagura pushed forward quickly by saying, "Yomi? This is Kagura, I was out jogging earlier, and I ran into Tomo. She was walking around without a coat on, and she wouldn't let me take her home, so I brought her back to my house. I think you need to come over, she looks really sick, and when I tried calling her house her mom hung up on me."

There was a short moment before Yomi replied in a confused but sure voice, "I'll be right over." The phone clicked as the connection was cut, and Kagura lowered it from her ear slowly, pausing for a moment before replacing it on its hook. Unsure of what to do now, Kagura paced between the kitchen and living room, taking a long look at Tomo's frail form on the couch each time she passed it. From the way Tomo's face was contorted somewhere between pain and worry, Kagura feared she might have a fever. At the moment, however, she couldn't for the life of her think of what to do in such an event, continuing to pace instead. It was only a few minutes that seemed both like an eternity and instant at the same time before someone pounded on the door of the house frantically.

With a start, Kagura rushed for the door, opening it quickly to find Yomi as expected. The way her hair was disarrayed, as well as her labored breathing and sweat covered brow assured Kagura she'd sprinted the whole way over. Kagura couldn't remember ever seeing Yomi show any emotions other than anger and humor, making the look on Yomi's face, something between utter terror and exhaustion, all the more shocking. Stepping out of the way, Kagura pointed towards the living room, "She's on the couch." Once Yomi had rushed in, Kagura shut the door, following her to the edge of the living room.

Keeping herself out of the way, Kagura watched the two girls as they began to hold hands, having a whispered conversation Kagura made herself not hear. As she stared Yomi turned to look at her, giving her a morbidly humorous smile that Kagura couldn't look away from. Despite how much she wanted to ask the obvious question, her mouth wouldn't form the words for it. The phone ringing was a sudden relief, letting Kagura leave to two to each other while she went to answer it.

Taking the phone from its receiver, Kagura began her pacing again in the kitchen as she said, "Hello?" The voice of Yomi's mother on the other end responded. After a short conversation, Kagura gave her directions to her house. After assuring Kagura that she'd be there as quickly as possible, the line went dead as Mrs. Mizuhara hung up her phone. Lowering her own phone back to its dock, Kagura turned and stepped quietly into the living room.

As she entered Kagura apparently caught the tail end of a conversation, only hearing the words, 'I love you too' from Yomi. Her face reddened, and she cleared her throat nervously, drawing Yomi's attention to her. Trying to pretend like she had heard nothing, Kagura pushed through the one-sided conversation quickly, "That was your mom, Yomi, she was asking how to get here. She said she'd have her car over here to take you and Tomo home in a few minutes." Kagura paused, a new idea to excuse herself from the scene coming to her. Almost over-excitedly she added, "Uh, I'm gonna go change out of my jogging clothes," then turning and almost running back to her bedroom.

Once in the sanctuary of her room, Kagura was unable to stop pacing as she removed the jogging suit and replaced it with a tank top and lounge pants. She didn't know what to think now. As if her head hadn't been swimming enough over the past week. If Yomi and Tomo were…like that, then did that mean that Tomo honestly thought her and Ms. Kurosawa were…? Kagura shook her head violently to clear the thought from her mind. It didn't work, nor did it help with the strange feeling coursing through her body, both chilling and warming at the same time. The doorbell rang, snapping Kagura out of her daze.

Kagura had to hold herself back from running to the front door, managing an anxious pace instead. Opening it, she met Yomi's mother, who smiled warmly at her. Kagura wordlessly waved her into the house, then shutting the door and trailing into the living room behind her.

Quietly, Kagura watched from the edge of the living room once again as Yomi and her mother helped Tomo up and into a jacket and her shoes. The two then lifted Tomo to her feet, guiding her towards the door. Opening the door for them, Kagura was surprised to hear Tomo mutter an apology as she passed. Kagura's mouth refused to work to answer Tomo's apology, leaving her silent still as Yomi and her mother thanked her. She watched the three move down the short walk through the front lawn. Once they were to the gate Kagura shut the door, going to the window near it to watch them as they loaded into the car and drove off.

After the car was out of sight Kagura stepped away from the window, dawdling in the living room for a few minutes as she tried to gather herself. Finally, she headed back down the hall towards her room to get ready for a nice, hot shower to hopefully help her sort out what had just taken place before her.

Finally under the hot spray of the shower, Kagura let her head fall forward, her forehead hitting the wall with a 'thunk' more painfully than she'd intended. Her usual method of relaxation that'd kept her from going mad over the past week wasn't going to work now. She needed someone to talk to. Kagura raised her head from the wall, her eyes widening as she realized a solution so obvious she wanted to smack her head against the wall again.

Kagura finished her shower as quickly as she could, heading back to her room with the intention of dressing to go out again. As she gathered her clothes the alarm clock on her beside table caught her eye; almost ten at night. Reluctantly she set the clothes aside for the morning, instead readying herself for bed. After changing back into the tank top and lounge pants from earlier, she went to get a drink of water in the kitchen, as well as to lock the front door. As she headed back towards her bedroom Kagura paused at the edge of the living room, looking at the spot Tomo and Yomi had occupied less than an hour before. She replayed the scene through her mind.

Shaking herself from her day dreaming, Kagura made her way to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her and crawling into bed under her warm comforter. She set her alarm clock for a few hours later than she normally got up for her morning job, planning to save herself a second trip across the neighborhood.

Lying back in her bed, Kagura stared at the ceiling, trying to think her way through the conversation she was going to have in the morning.

_ End Chapter 4. _

* * *

Seems like the times between these updates get longer and longer, despite me saying they'll be shorter. School is still kicking my butt. Well, Calculus II is, anyway, as I'm doing fine in all my other classes. 

I was worried for a bit that I'd stagnated on this fic, but finally, I got struck with inspiration for what will transpire over the next few chapters and pushed my way through this one. I suppose this chapter was just hard to pull out of my head partly because it had to be weaved around what was said and done in Cold Night's Chapter 5. Next chapter, we finally get into the original intent of the fic. The end pairing is still up in the air, but I've got something in store for everybody.

_"Thanks for continuing this story! I do like the Kagura/Sakaki angle you've added. I admit, it does make things interesting._

I really do enjoy watching Sakaki blush, but she genuinely cares about the other girl and that's great.

Keep up the good work. And don't forget: "Have fun!"

I like hearing that you're thinking about doing an Asuka/Rei fic, as well as the much anticipated Winry/Schezka (too hard to spell!).

Don't worry about rushing. Your best bet is not to force it!

Thanks for all the fun!

Sincerely,  
writer-jm" 

Yeah, nothing more fun than a love triangle when it comes to a romance story. Well, I suppose a love quadrangle can be more fun. And might be coming up in this story. As far as the Asuka/Rei fic goes, I have mixed feelings on it, as it sort of boils down to 'Asuka trying to sexually harass Rei into showing emotion,' which is a bit messed up. Though my problem there is more the characterization of the two. I don't know, we'll see how it shapes up. On the note of the Winry/Schiezska fic, I unfortunately haven't been struck any real ideas for it, just set ups that I don't want to act on because they usually lead me nowhere. I'm glad you've been enjoying the fic, and I don't do _any_thing in a rush, obviously.

_"Wee! Chapter 3!_

I like how this chapter just adds to Kagura's confusion(or I guess it will add since now there's somewhat of a love triangle). I guess another reason why I don't read shoujo-ai/shounen-ai is because lots of people just put the pairing in there or make the character suddenly admit he's gay; well, that's what I hear, but it doesn't make sense for stories like that because it's more of a struggle to deal with homosexual feelings, from what I've seen/read/heard.

Anyway, the point is, this one, like Cold Nights, isn't like that at all; which means that you get lots of cake or whatever sweet food item you like.

What if Kagura's father somehow heard the rumor and then confronted Kagura while she was still incredibly confused? And then he says some things that only confuse her more? Just a thought, though do whatever you want.

Take your time with the fouth,  
Rushia"

Oh yes, Kagura's confusion is fun. I agree on a lot of shoujo-ai/shonen-ai fics just tossing in the change in sexuality as a footnote. It's something that should sort of play a major role in the story, or at least, the abscence of it being a major thing should be addressed. Not to mention how powerful a thing denial is. There's also the concerns about how those around them would react to finding it out, which I think is an even bigger issue for some. I'm still unsure on how I'll handle Kagura's parents finding out. It's a ways off for her, regardless of what I do.

To the rest of you that reviewed the fic that I didn't respond to, all I can say is, thanks for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and stay tuned for more.


	5. Warm Days: Chapter 5

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Warm Days**

Chapter 5

It was morning, and the sun played through the curtains of Kagura's bedroom window, drawing a dividing line across her bed. Under the covers Kagura still lay curled up, despite the fact she'd been awake for at least the past thirty minutes. She was afraid to look at the clock on her bedside table for fear it'd show she'd woken up hours too early. No matter how much shifting around under the covers she did to get back to sleep, all she succeeded in doing was twisting her clothes into uncomfortable positions.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity the buzz of her alarm clock shattered the morning silence. Throwing the covers off of her, Kagura slid straight out of bed to her feet, reaching and flicking off her alarm clock quickly. Just as quickly she was out of her bedclothes and into her jogging ones.

After a quick stop in the bathroom to carry out her morning regime, Kagura made her way through the house as quietly as possible, knowing her parents would still be asleep after spending the past night out. After pulling on her sneakers, she grabbed her keys from their hook by the door, draping them around her neck as she opened the door and locked it, then pulling it shut behind her. After a very abbreviated session of stretches she set off down the street on her usual jogging path.

Though it was late morning by now, the air was still crisp and fresh under the cloudless blue sky. It was still as cold as it had been for the past week, and the snow remained though it had now been worked clear of the roads and sidewalks. Not that either had ever bothered Kagura on her jogs before and weren't about to start now. As she reached her normal turn-back point, she felt more wound up than usual over the prospect of finally putting her mind at ease. She had a solution to the rumors that haunted her.

Kagura stopped in front of the apartment complex, jogging in place and whispering to herself to calm down. Her eyes rose to the third floor, then counting the small balconies down to the one attached to the apartment she was headed to.

Taking a deep calming breath, Kagura entered the small lobby of the apartment complex, glancing around at the few people already up and about, returning the smiles of those who smiled at her. Reaching the stairs Kagura mounted them as quickly as she could carry herself, taking them two at a time until she was at the third floor. She paused at the end of the flight of stairs, hands on her knees, catching her breath for a moment before continuing on down the hall.

Walking down the hall Kagura glanced at the doors to her left and right, checking the nameplates and apartment numbers until she came to stand before the door of the apartment she searched for. Raising her hand, Kagura tried to restrain herself so her knocking didn't sound so imposing. Quickly placing her hands behind her back, Kagura watched the door and waited, shortly wondering if perhaps no one was home, until the peephole in the door darkened momentarily. She could hear the sound of locks being undone, and the door finally opened to reveal Minamo Kurosawa.

For a moment the two stared at each other, Kagura's face finally cracking into an apologetic grin, "Sorry I didn't call and just showed up like this, but I needed to ask you about something."

Nodding mechanically, Minamo stepped back, motioning for Kagura to enter. The younger girl kicked off her sneakers just inside the door, then going to take a seat at the squat table that took up a large chunk of the floor in the tiny studio apartment. Minamo finished preparing a teakettle and set it on the stove to boil, then coming back to the table to sit across from Kagura. After Minamo removed the stack of tests she'd left on the table from grading the night, setting them off to the side on the floor, the two were left watching each other to see who would speak first.

Still unsure of what was going on, Minamo finally said in an idle voice, "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Drumming her fingers on the table anxiously, Kagura tried to remember how she had thought out the conversation the night before. She had to choose her words carefully. "Well, it's the rumors at school…."

Minamo's eyes dropped to the table in front of her, "Oh, I see. It's still bothering you?"

Kagura let her eyes wander around the room, saying in a casual voice, "Sort of, it's, well, you remember how last summer when we were on vacation you told everyone about…uh, how to be with guys?"

Minamo could feel her face burn, quickly sitting up straight with a rigid posture as she forced herself to nod. It had been one of her least graceful moments. She had downed most of a bottle of wine to keep Yukari from getting drunk on it and doing something stupid. Only to turn around and do it herself, in the form of telling a room full of high school girls everything she knew about relations with men.

She was snapped from reliving that horrible night as Kagura continued with what she was saying, "Last week, I started thinking, if I hooked up with a guy, and did what you said, it'd prove I wasn't…like that, but—"

Kagura was cut short by the sound of Minamo's palms slamming down on the table. The older woman rose to her knees, crying in a shocked voice, "Kagura, you _didn't_!"

Retreating back from the table reflexively, Kagura held up her hands, shaking her head, "No, no, I didn't! I just thought it could work!" Suddenly what she had learned about men from Ms. Kurosawa didn't seem like something she should be copying.

Minamo sank back to sit once more, touching her fingers to her forehead wearily, "Thank God, for a moment I thought you had done something really crazy."

Now looking crestfallen, Kagura did her best to suppress the sob rising in her throat, "It seemed like it could've worked…."

Sighing, Minamo looked across the table at the younger girl who fiddled idly with the zipper of her jumper, "Kagura, having a boyfriend is one thing, giving yourself away—just like _that_—is another one entirely. It's just a horrible idea. You'd only get hurt in the end, and it could, well, ruin your life if you aren't careful."

Kagura kept her eyes down on the table, occasionally looking out the sliding glass door at the buildings across the street, making sure not to actually make eye contact with Ms. Kurosawa each time, "I just, I thought you could help me get a boyfriend. If I just had one, it'd prove I wasn't…that way, and no one could say anything about it anymore…. It was a stupid idea anyway, 'cause since all this stuff happened none of the boys at school would want to go out with me anyway."

Resting her arms on the table, Minamo leaned forward, "Kagura, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. As long as _you_ know the rumors are just rumors, that's all that matters, right?"

Looking back to the girl, Minamo's eyes locked with Kagura's for the first time since the conversation had begun. The younger girl's eyes now held a conflicted, stormy look of inner turmoil. Though Kagura looked to want to say something further, she instead nodded solemnly, "Right."

As the two held each other's gaze, Minamo smiled self-depreciatingly, "Besides, if I knew how to _get_ a boyfriend, I'd have one, wouldn't I?"

A ghost of a smile crossed Kagura's face. She looked away to check her wristwatch, not actually reading the time before saying, "I-I need to go now, I have to get home." Before Minamo could think of anything to say Kagura was already at the door and sliding her sneakers on.

As Kagura opened the door Minamo called after her, the younger girl turning to look back from the doorway as Minamo said, "Just don't do anything crazy, okay?" With a weak smile and nod, Kagura shut the door behind her, starting down the hallway at a slow pace. She didn't so much walk down the stairs as she did the bare minimum in avoiding falling down them. In anguish she chewed on her lower lip. The conversation with Ms. Kurosawa had gone nothing like she'd imagined, and now she was even more confused and distressed than before.

Minamo sat in silence for several minutes after Kagura had shut the door. She wondered if she was still asleep and had just dreamed the exchange she had with Kagura. But, even that wasn't a good prospect, to see Kagura in her dreams. The squeal of the tea kettle brought her around, going to the kitchenette and cutting off the stove's eye as she slid the kettle from the eye to a ceramic stand on the counter.

As Minamo worked at opening a fresh box of tea bags she was startled by a booming knock at the apartment's door. Her first thought was that it was Kagura, having come back after working up the nerve to say what was on her mind now. No sooner than Minamo had turned the door handle, however, was the door forced open as Yukari burst in, saying in a far too loud voice, "I can't believe you!"

Nearly dropping the box of tea bags as she retreated back, Minamo said in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Taking another step towards her, Yukari pointed accusingly at Minamo, "You had her in your apartment! Was it a tryst? Is that it? I can't believe this!"

Starting towards Yukari, Minamo said back in a defensive, but lower voice, "It was not! We were just talking! Now stop yelling before my neighbors think we're even _more_ crazy!"

Turning away from Minamo, Yukari crossed her arms, saying condescendingly, "I see how it is." She looked over her shoulder at Minamo, "I'm keeping my eye on you." With that, she stepped through the still open door, slamming it shut behind her.

Staring at the shut door, Minamo reached and turned the dead bolt lock on it, deciding she wasn't going to answer it again. Going back to the counter to fix her tea, she idly considered passing up the tea in favor of something alcoholic, though she knew Yukari had helped herself to any alcohol that may have been in the apartment long ago.

_ End Chapter 5._

* * *

And here you have another chapter. This actually isn't the chapter I mentioned in the A/N at the end of the last chapter. I have that one planned out and mostly written up, and the one after it planned out. I don't know _where_ this chapter came from. It snuck up on me as I was preparing what is now the next chapter and screamed to be a chapter of its own. I think it's mostly I felt the need to draw things out a bit more before getting into the juicier parts. So, still now things will head towards the original intention of the fic in the next chapter...

As for other project ideas, I'm afraid the Winry/Schiezka FMA fic is dead in the water. I just haven't been struck with any particular inspiration for an actual story. However, thanks to being at home with access to Bit Torrent, I've been become a big fan of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ and _Bleach_... So now I have ideas for an Azula/Ty Lee fic, and a Tatsuki/Orihime fic. We'll see how the latter pans out once I've seen more of _Bleach_, as there's a part of it key to the fic I need to see for myself first.

_"so...does this mean this is a NyamoxKagura or SakakixKagura?_

good so far, i think it would be cool if you pair up Nyamo and Kagura together, becuase it would be an awsome non-cannon couple

and im like, a total fan of non-cannon couples" - CommandoDude

You know, I'm not sure what it means anymore. Every time I think I have the exact ending thought out, it changes in my mind. Guess we'll know when I finally write it all.

To the rest of you that reviewed the fic that I didn't respond to, all I can say is, thanks for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and stay tuned for more.


	6. Warm Days: Chapter 6

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Warm Days**

Chapter 6

The week had been horrible for Kagura. The brief night of comfort and confidence she had managed had been quickly shattered the next day by her conversation with Ms. Kurosawa. Now all she was left with was one looming, terrifying thought that was becoming harder and harder to shut out. Her listless behavior had no doubt begun to worry her parents and friends even further, as she seemed to drift through everything without really paying any attention to it. What of her there was left wandered about seemingly emotionless.

The rumor-mill wasn't about to let slide the apparent torpor she was suffering through. Since its debut the rumor about her had—thankfully—been declining in popularity as her fellow students moved on to new tidbits of gossip and lost interest in Kagura's sexual preference. This, however, did not stop new parts from being added to it and briefly re-kindling it. Since the start of the new week she had begun hearing how sure everyone was that her sudden loss of interest in the world was because of a lover's spat.

At least now instead of curling up somewhere to cry she wanted to yell at those whispering behind her back, telling them they had no idea what they were talking about. Not that doing so would have done anything more than agitate the rumors once again by her denying them.

With the new week also came a further drop in the friction between Kagura and Tomo, though now there was a whole new set of reasons for why Kagura could barely stand to be in the same room as Tomo _or_ Yomi without blushing. Reasons she didn't want to think about.

Thursday came and at the instant lunch began Kagura was out of the classroom and heading towards the stairs so she could get down to the pool house as quickly as possible. She had been holing up in the locker rooms there for the past week. It had long ago become a place she could hide out and be alone at during lunch, though until recently she had never had reason to use it much.

Sitting on one of the benches Kagura opened her lunch box, carefully positioning it in her lap and beginning to eat purely out of necessity, as food, just like everything else, only barely held her interest any more. She startled at a knock on the privacy wall of the locker room, dropping a chopstick load of rice back into her lunch box as she looked quickly for who was there.

Minamo smiled, walking towards the younger girl and saying apologetically, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." She noted the look on Kagura's face that made it seem like the girl wanted to relax, but couldn't. Taking a seat on the bench a respectful distance from Kagura, Minamo began unwrapping her own lunch box, saying conversationally, "Is everything okay?"

Clenching her chopsticks together in her hand, Kagura chewed on her lip for a moment as if weighing possible replies against one another, "I'm fine…just, well…."

Minamo watched as the girl gave her jerky reply, giving her ample time to add anything further before finally saying, "Kagura, if there's something wrong, you can tell me, and I'll try to help any way that I can."

There was another moment of silence as Kagura gave a paranoid glance around the room, "It's…I can't tell you here. Could I maybe, like, come over after school?" She looked to her teacher almost hopefully.

Wiping her mouth after finishing another bite of lunch, Minamo smiled, "Of course. How about tonight, after dinner?"

Looking back down to her lunchbox Kagura nodded, mumbling thanks through a big bite of rice. The two ate in silence then, Kagura using her mouth being stuffed as an excuse to not say anything further. As the lunch period neared its end, Minamo had finished her meal well in advance, now re-wrapping her lunchbox and saying, "I should get back upstairs before anyone realizes I didn't leave school on an errand." She gave Kagura a sideways smile, "The last thing we need is people seeing us coming out of the pool house together. I'll see you tonight."

Not doing anything more than nodding, Kagura watched as Ms. Kurosawa rose to her feet, leaving the pool house through the other door than she'd entered through, presumably to make her way back into the school the long way, so it appeared she came in from the street.

Kagura sat quietly, fiddling with the handkerchief her lunchbox was wrapped in until she was almost too late to make it to her after-lunch class in time. Jogging up the stairs at a quick pace she was beginning to feel sick over the prospect of what the coming night held for her. Of course in the mean time she drifted through the rest of her classes for the day as she had since the start of the week. She made it all the way home, through her chores, and to dinner before being snapped out of her daze by her father asking if there was something wrong with her.

Looking up from her dinner that she'd been doing little more than shifting around its plate with her chopsticks, Kagura looked like a deer caught in headlights. She had no idea how to respond, certainly not with what was occupying her mind, but what could she possibly say? She finally stuttered out a, "It's nothing" before quickly rising to her feet, excusing herself, and leaving the table before even being acknowledged for it.

As Kagura walked down the hall to her room she heard her mother's voice saying, "Girl problems. I think she has a crush." The words made Kagura blush furiously, having to fumble even to turn the door knob going into her bedroom. Was she that easy to read? Once in the sanctuary of her room Kagura paced nervously, stripping her school uniform off piece-by-piece and replacing it with her jogging clothes.

Once re-dressed Kagura flew through the house, grabbing her keys from their hook by the door, and saying loudly, "I'm going out for a jog," before leaving the house too quickly for anyone to respond. As soon as she reached the street she dispensed with stretching and began to run. She knew full well her resolve was about to begin quickly waning, and she needed to put herself as close to her destination as she could before that happened.

As she came to the apartment complex Kagura barely slowed down enough to pull the lobby door open, garnering strange looks from the residents inside as she passed through and shot up the stair well. Reaching the third floor was when Kagura finally slowed her pace to a walk, trying to catch her breath. It was now that the finality of what she was about to do dawned on her. Each step down the hallway made it feel more and more like a walk down Death Row. There was about to be no turning back. She wouldn't be able to go home and pretend nothing happened.

It was all she could do to just keep from turning and running as she knocked on the door. Her heart beat in her ears as she waited, finally stiffening as the door clicked and swung open, Ms. Kurosawa standing in the doorway with a smile on her face. Before they could even greet each other Kagura felt like a hot poker had been stabbed through her leg, causing her to hunch over and hiss in pain, managing to say "cramp" through gritted teeth.

Without missing a beat Minamo had her arm around Kagura's shoulders, helping the girl hobble into and through the apartment to sit on the edge of the bed. While Kagura sat still clutching at her thigh painfully Minamo retrieved a bag of ice from her freezer, coming to sit on the bed beside Kagura, dropping the bag between them for the moment. Reaching to move Kagura's hands, Minamo said in a comforting voice, "Here, let me." Without thinking about it she began to work and knead Kagura's thigh, carefully working to massage the cramp out, "You're usually pretty good about not getting cramps."

Though the massage was quickly soothing the worst of the muscle cramp, Kagura bit her lip and grimaced for another reason as Ms. Kurosawa's fingers brushed along the inside of her thigh. She hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt like it was, "I sort of forgot to stretch before I ran over here…."

After a few more passes kneading over the muscle, Minamo picked up the bag of ice, setting it on Kagura's thigh and moving the girl's hand to hold it in place. Her eyes rose to Kagura's face, feeling something about the girl's anxiety had changed, "You really shouldn't forget, or this'll happen more often." Having finished tending to Kagura's cramp, Minamo slid back to sit a more respectful distance from the younger girl, "Now, what is it that's bothering you?"

Squeezing the bag of ice between her fingers, Kagura's mind plodded around for what she wanted to say, giving a few false starts, "It's…something…." She risked a glance up to Ms. Kurosawa's face, quickly looking away again.

Giving a look of total attention, Minamo said coaxingly, "Something being…?"

The seconds of strained silence turned into minutes as things to say built up inside Kagura. Each time she tried to bring one forward to her mouth she felt herself grow light-headed, and her vision tunneling. She randomly wondered if there was enough space on the bed for her to fall backwards without hitting her head on the wall, in case she fainted. Finally, Kagura blurted out, "I think I'm gay!"

The words hung in the air between them. Minamo was at first at a loss for how to respond, only able to stare at Kagura, totally stunned. Finally, out of curiosity she managed, "What makes you say that?"

Keeping her eyes locked on the bag of ice resting on her thigh, Kagura said in an unsure voice, "I've been thinking, and I've never really been interested in boys…."

Nodding, Minamo said still out of curiosity, "But have you been interested in girls?"

Her face contorting slightly in distress, Kagura whispered, "I think I have a crush on one…."

Before her manners could intervene to stop the obvious rude question Minamo had said, "Who?"

Kagura's eyes slowly rose from her knees to meet Ms. Kurosawa's, her face now holding a purely guilty look. Staring back at her, Minamo's mind clicked away at what the look meant, and she slowly raised her hand to point at herself, no more than mouthing, "Me?" Kagura bursting into tears and sobbing loudly as she attempted to apologize incoherently confirmed the question.

Several times Minamo began to say something before finally getting her thoughts together, "Oh, Kagura…You can't let this rumor get to you."

Kagura's voice cracked as she spouted suddenly, "I know!" She rose to her feet, adding in a shaky voice, "I won't ever say anything about it again, I-I swear." She turned, heading for the door quickly, still clutching the bag of ice in her hand and limping slightly. For a few moments Minamo sat bewildered, unable to think of what to do. Her brain finally kicked into gear and she leapt to her feet, running after Kagura.

Minamo made it to the door just in time to slam it back shut as Kagura attempted to open it after putting her sneakers on. Sliding between Kagura and the door, Minamo looked the younger girl in the eyes, saying in a serious tone, "Kagura, we _have_ to talk about this now."

Descending fully into sobs again, Kagura stepped out of her shoes, not resisting as Ms. Kurosawa took her by the shoulders and guided her back into the living room. Once the girl was seated, Minamo retrieved tea cups and the teapot for them, as well as a box of tissues she set on the table before Kagura, taking a seat beside the younger girl and going about pouring their tea.

Now that they were settled once more, Minamo sat with her eyes on her teacup while Kagura was busy mopping tears from her cheeks with one of the tissues. An awkward silence hung between them, finally broken by Kagura saying in an insecure voice, "Do you hate me now?"

Looking up to meet Kagura's eyes, Minamo said in her best calm and level voice, "No, Kagura, I…."

Tearfully Kagura added, "Do you think I'm a freak?"

Minamo shook her head, "No. I just think you're…confused." She sighed, "When I was your age, I thought I loved another girl too. I probably went through all the same thoughts and feelings you have been…."

Now staring at her teacher, transfixed, Kagura said in a curious voice, "What happened?"

Minamo broke her gaze away from that of the younger girl, taking a sip of her tea and sighing, "I eventually got up the courage to tell her, so, I wrote all my feelings for her down in a letter and gave it to her…." She paused for another sip of tea, doing her best to keep the bitterness out of her voice as she finished, "And she laughed in my face."

Her eyes trailing back to the tissue she was toying with, Kagura mumbled, "That's horrible."

"It was horrible of me to do that to her…. We'd been friends for years, and I just suddenly decided to risk throwing our friendship away because of some silly feelings I thought I had…."

For a few quiet moments Kagura folded and unfolded the tissue in her hands. Suddenly she snapped her eyes up to Ms. Kurosawa as they widened with realization, "It was Ms. Yukari?"

Minamo's cheeks reddened with shame, and she avoided Kagura's eyes, saying with a sigh, "Yeah…."

Her face dimming from surprise back to the melancholy look she had before, Kagura said meekly, "You liked girls then, but you don't now?"

Looking up from her tea cup quickly, Minamo barely avoided stammering as she attempted to shift the subject of their conversation back, "Kagura, there are lots of other reasons we couldn't do this, you know that…. I'm too old for you, for one, and you're my student, and this is so sudden…."

For a moment Kagura's face contorted like she was about to descend into sobs once more, which made Minamo's heart wrench. Instead of sobbing, the younger girl said in a careful voice, "Even if we can't go out...would you…." There was a long pause, and all that could be heard was the breathing of the two women before Kagura worked up the nerve to force out, "Would you be my first kiss?"

Caught totally off-guard, Minamo nearly overturned her teacup. Their eyes were locked into an unbreakable stare, and in Kagura's Minamo could see a look of deep innocent pleading and longing for confirmation. Against all her good sense and logic, Minamo nodded, turning to face Kagura fully, the younger girl doing the same. For a moment Minamo was unsure of how to go about it, though she knew Kagura wouldn't make the first move. She took a steadying breath, then rising up on her knees with resolve to close the distance between her and the younger girl. One hand went to Kagura's shoulder, the other to cup the back of the girl's head, Minamo then guiding them together, nudging the younger girl's head to tilt the opposite direction of her own.

Though it wasn't the most passionate kiss of all time, it felt like dynamite to Kagura, leaving a tingly feeling in her belly stronger than even that left by her dreams. Once the two broke apart they still held their positions, their faces only inches apart. Minamo's hands dawdled where they were with the one cupping the back of Kagura's head now running through the girl's cropped hair, savoring the feeling of intimate contact with another person.

Coming back to her senses, Minamo withdrew her hands, retreating to a polite distance from Kagura, saying in a voice that almost sounded like she was nervous about her performance, "How was that?"

Nodding dazedly, Kagura could only mumble, "It was awesome…."

Silence hung between the two once again, both too taken aback to say anything.

Her wristwatch beeping brought Kagura back to reality, checking the time on it and saying, "Oh man, it's late, I've gotta get home!" She rose to her feet, going to put her shoes on quickly. Looking over her shoulder to Ms. Kurosawa she said, "Goodbye," not receiving an immediate response.

As the girl opened the door, Minamo suddenly rose to her feet, saying, "Wait, Kagura!"

Turning in the doorway Kagura looked at Ms. Kurosawa questioningly. The older woman said after a short moment, "Maybe…maybe we could try going out sometime," ending with a nervous smile.

It took a moment for the effects of the words to set in on Kagura. When they did, she looked like she was about to explode with happiness. Running back through the apartment she threw her arms around Ms. Kurosawa in a tight hug, repeating, "thank you" over and over again as she did so. After a moment she released Ms. Kurosawa, stepping back and saying in a more calmed voice as she backed towards the door, "Sorry. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school!" Minamo nodded in response as the two bid each other farewell a last time.

Minamo stood in place until the apartment door clicked shut, then moving to slump down on her bed, laying back across it to lean against the wall, mumbling to herself, "What have I gotten myself into?"

For the first time in two weeks Kagura felt truly happy, giddy even. She could barely contain herself enough to not begin running until she was out of the apartment complex, then breaking into a full sprint towards her home. The cramp in her leg had been long forgotten, though the muscle still ached slightly. As she finally reached her home once more Kagura paused to do a few warm-down stretches, still jumping with energy

Finishing her stretches Kagura headed inside, locking the door behind her and hanging the necklace with her keys on a hook by the door as she stepped out of her shoes. As she no less than danced her way down the hall to her room she was stopped by the sound of her mother's voice calling her name, causing her to wheel around in surprise and embarrassment, her mother then adding, "What took you so long?"

Kagura could feel her face heating up, saying quickly, "I-I ran into someone from school and we were talking, and I totally lost track of the time—sorry!"

With a sigh Kagura's mother shook her head, "If there's something going on, you can tell me. You've been acting strange for a while now."

Backing up to the door of her room and grasping its knob, Kagura laughed nervously, "It's—it's nothing, just y'know, stuff at school." As her mother regarded her with a skeptical look Kagura opened the door to her room, stepping back through it, "I-I need to take a shower so I can get to bed soon." She received a nod from her mother in response who—thankfully—let the issue drop, walking out of sight into the living room.

Shutting the door behind herself Kagura looked around her room slowly, suddenly feeling nervous again with the worry that her parents could be piecing together what was going on with her. Gathering her sleep clothes she headed into the bathroom to try to relax her new fears with a nice, long hot shower. The feeling of concern over her parents becoming alarmed by her odd behavior had a hard time making itself known over the giddy feeling of having confessed her dark secret to someone finally, at least.

_End Chapter 6.  
_

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Here we go again. Almost exactly one month since the last update, right on the deadline I'd hoped for. This chapter ended up being longer than I'd expected it to be. Originally I'd intended it to be the next _two_ chapters, but, I just didn't see a good breaking point for it, and it would've made both chapters a bit short. So, I left it whole. Finally we're at the meat of what this fanfic is about. Which, the only reason I suppose this chapter made it out on time is because as I said in the author's notes for the last chapter, I already had most of it written out. I've spent the past week or so being picky with my wordings, changing little things around, and altering minor details fastidiously. I guess I'm just getting paranoid about the execution of the really important parts of this story. I still don't have an exact end in sight, but I now have a good idea of what's going to happen to Kagura in the near future...

As for other fanfic ideas of mine, there actually haven't been many. I've got access to all of the Bleach manga and anime that are out currently, but I haven't had time to read/watch through them, so, the Tarsuki/Orihime fic will have to wait until I do that to see if the idea is even viable. I'm anxiously awaiting the third season of Avatar, and did have an idea for what amounted to a Sokka torturefic (nothing against Sokka, he's awesome, the writers are just really setting him up for some falls...), but, that sort of passed. The Azula/Ty Lee fic is...I can't think of any actual storyline for it, it'd just be a single slash scene, which I'm not about to make into a fic. The only other idea I may actually act on is an Avatar one shot, humorous in nature with implied perverted content. Maybe I'll write it out, I don't know.

Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic. Next chapter we get to see where the Kagura/Nyamo pairing will go. Stay tuned, I'll catch you on the flip side.


	7. Warm Days: Chapter 7

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Warm Days**

Chapter 7

It was Saturday evening and Minamo Kurosawa had just finished getting dressed for her date. She checked herself over in the bathroom mirror one last time, then wandering back into the main room of her apartment, flopping herself down at the table. Though the TV was on as it had been all afternoon, Minamo stared at some imaginary point past it, lost in thought. 

Of all things, Minamo felt nervous. She had felt nervous since the day before when she and Kagura met for lunch in the locker room, and had arranged their date. It wasn't that she had never felt nervous before a date before anyway, she certainly had, especially for double-dates with Yukari who normally assured the night would have a bad ending. This, however, was a different kind of nervousness that she kept telling herself was only a fear of being recognized by someone from school.

Minamo's eyes flashed momentarily to the time displayed in the upper right corner of her TV's screen, noting it was a few minutes before the top of the hour, when she had told Kagura to be at her apartment. As if on cue, a knock at the apartment's door caused her to snap back from her thoughts. Quickly hitting the 'power' button the TV's remote, Minamo hopped to her feet, heading to the door to greet the girl with a warm smile and, "Good evening, Kagura."

Kagura looked as ecstatic as ever, bouncing on the balls of her feet, saying with a grin, "Good evening, Ms. Kurosawa!"

Her smile turning to an embarrassed one, Minamo quickly corrected her, "Please, while we're out like this call me Minamo—or Nyamo."

Managing to look even more delighted, Kagura said in a soft voice, "You don't mind?"

Minamo shook her head, moving to slip her shoes and jacket on, "Of course not." She lifted two plastic sacks from where they set just inside the door, flicking the apartment lights off and locking the door as she stepped out and pulled it to, adding, "I don't mind being called by my nickname, except when Yukari insists on using it while we're at work." She smiled modestly, "Well, let's get going."

Kagura nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, let's go!" The two walked down the hall, taking the stair well down to the parking garage below the building. As they walked, Kagura repeatedly glanced to the sacks carried by Ms. Kurosawa, her curiosity finally forcing her to say, as she motioned towards them, "What's in there?"

Responding to Kagura's curious look with a cryptic smile, Minamo simply said, "Something for tonight, you'll see when it's time." Reaching her car, Minamo unlocked the passenger side door first, holding it open for Kagura who smiled graciously as she climbed in, having the door shut behind her. Minamo made her way around the car, depositing the two sacks onto the back seat before taking her place behind the wheel and getting them moving.

As the car made its way out of the basement parking garage and onto the already darkened street, Kagura said in a playful voice, "Are you going to tell me where we're going, or will I have to wait until we get there to see that too?"

Not taking her eyes off the road, Minamo said bemusedly, "I thought we'd drive over to Edogawa. My grandparents lived near there, so I know the area pretty well."

Kagura's gave her a surprised look, "That's pretty far away…."

Minamo grinned sheepishly, "Yes, pretty far away from anyone who would recognize us, too."

Nodding in approval, Kagura laughed, "Hey, yeah, that way we don't have to worry!" A small smile of complacency stayed on Minamo's face as they fell silent. It was several minutes before Kagura breached the silence between them otherwise only marred by the sounds of traffic. "So, uh…how did you decide you liked girls?" She did her best not to make the question sound prying, even though it was.

Not answering immediately, Minamo considered the question carefully, "Well, I, uh, guess I decided it when I realized I had a crush on Yukari. I mean, I don't know when it _started_, I think I'd been getting weird feelings over seeing other girls changing in the locker rooms for P.E. in middle school."

There was a moment of silence in which Kagura looked thoughtful, "Oh, yeah, you're never in the locker room when we're changing, are you?"

Her face reddening, Minamo looked to the girl quickly, "No, that doesn't happen _now_, it was—" Her attention was yanked back to driving by the brake lights of the car in front of them illuminating. Now keeping her eyes firmly on the road Minamo said in a nervous voice, "It was nothing, I was just confused by the way my hormones were playing with me. I probably would've gotten the same feeling if I'd seen the boys changing too—I just misinterpreted the feelings…."

Kagura kept her eyes turned down at herself as she fiddled with the zipper on her jacket, "Do you think that's what's wrong with me?"

With a nervous chuckle Minamo shrugged, "I don't think there's anything _wrong_ with you…I just think you need a chance to explore your options and decide for yourself what you want. Everyone does. That's why we're doing this, isn't it?"

Kagura nodded in response, silence then once again filling the space between the two women as the car slowly wove its way through the streets of the Tokyo metro area. It was halfway through their trip when Kagura spoke again, "So, uh, does anyone else know you had a crush on Ms. Yukari?"

A frown flitted across Minamo's face, "Well, no, I don't think so." She shrugged, "You were the first person I've ever told about it…."

Shifting in her seat Kagura looked shocked, "Really?" After a moment her expression sobered, and she turned to look out the side window, watching the people on the sidewalk as they traveled. The better part of their trip was through when Kagura had put together in her head what she wanted to say next. "I think Tomo and Yomi are…a couple."

The candid statement startled Minamo, causing her to give Kagura quick glance, "What? Why do you think that?"

With a shrug Kagura kept her eyes focused on the sights outside of the car, "It's, well, promise you won't tell anyone else, okay?" Minamo confirmed the agreement, Kagura then launching into a recollection of what had transpired the past weekend when Kagura had found Tomo out in the cold without a jacket. While trying to downplay Tomo's mid-winter bout with hypothermia Kagura gave special emphasis to the end of the night when she had overheard Yomi and Tomo proclaiming their love for one another while holding hands.

Through the surprise over the anecdote the only word that Minamo could respond with was "wow."

Now looking pensive, Kagura drummed her fingers on the door handle nervously, "It was weird seeing it, but…."

Glancing to the girl Minamo offered a leading, "But?"

Kagura chewed her lip for a moment, squirming a bit in her seat, "Well, I've been thinking about it, and, what if Tomo wasn't just…being Tomo, when she started the rumor about me? Maybe she knew I was…this way, even before I did. And what if someone else knows, too?"

Offering a re-assuring smile, Minamo chuckled quietly, "You're just being paranoid now."

Continuing to fidget restlessly, Kagura sighed, "I guess. I just, well, what if my parents figure it out? I mean, I guess I've got to tell them anyway, though, don't I?"

Coming to a stop at a traffic light Minamo used the chance to look to Kagura, making the first real eye contact with her since they left the apartment complex. "You should if you feel the need to, but you don't have to worry about that until you're sure what you want."

Nodding, Kagura then went back to gazing out of the car window, the silence between them returning yet again. Finally, an hour after they left Minamo's apartment, they were finally in Edogawa. As they had entered the area the tall buildings that turned streets into confining valleys had given way to relatively large houses, mansions by Japanese standards. The sounds of the city had dulled down, barely audible in the relatively quiet streets of Edogawa. The houses here were interspaced only by mostly smaller stores and strip malls, with an occasional larger building.

After a bit of searching Minamo pulled the car into a vacant parking space at the curb. Cutting the engine and taking her keys, Minamo looked to Kagura, smiling, "I forgot how long it takes to get over here."

Kagura returned the smile, her previous nervousness over her situation apparently gone, "I don't mind, we got to talk." She checked the street outside before opening her door and climbing out, Minamo doing the same. The older woman dropped coins into the parking meter on the sidewalk before retrieving the two plastic sacks from the backseat of the car and locking it.

Once standing on the sidewalk Kagura stretched her legs and back, then turning to Minamo, "So, where to now?"

"We're heading this way," Minamo said as she motioned for Kagura to follow and began to walk. "We're just a few blocks away."

Nodding curiously Kagura shoved her hands into her jacket pockets as a cool breeze picked up around them. Kagura's mind set on trying to think of what she could say at this point for small talk, every idea being rejected because she didn't want to end up prattling on about something of no interest to anyone else, much less Minamo. It was Minamo that re-initiated their conversation as they made their way around the block, "So, have you ever been here before?"

Her hands still deep in her pockets as the wind picked up further, Kagura shook her head negatively, "No, I don't think so." Another gust of chilling wind hit them, causing Kagura to reflexively press against Minamo, quickly springing away as if she'd been burned, blurting out a fast, "sorry."

Minamo gave Kagura a modest smile, "You don't have to be so jumpy, even if this is the first time we've done this, it's not like we just met." The two rounded the block, Minamo's attention being drawn from Kagura to the large building that had come into view. Pointing towards it Minamo said, "That's where we're headed."

The building ahead of them was several stories tall, rising above the decorative trees around it. From this side all they could see was a blank white wall. Nearing it the large set of windows that took up half of the front wall, as well as its large blue and yellow sign came into view. Reading the sign with interest, Kagura said in surprise, "An ice skating rink?"

With a smile Minamo nodded, "Have you ever been to one before?"

Her gaze dropping to the sacks Minamo carried, Kagura shook her head, "I've been roller skating, but never ice skating." They walked in silence for a few moments, nearing the building when Kagura asked, "So those sacks are…?"

Minamo smiled, holding one sack out to the younger girl, "My pair of skates, and one of my older pairs for you. I think they should just fit."

Kagura took the sack, opening it far enough to peak inside at the pair of light blue ice skates as they neared the building, saying curiously, "How do you know?"

Shrugging as she opened the door to the building and held it for Kagura, Minamo said with a playful smile, "Just a guess." As they made their way to the ticket counter she added, "I still had your shoe size written down from when I ordered you those new track shoes last spring."

After Minamo paid for their tickets—not giving Kagura the chance to even try to pay for herself—the two made their way through the turnstiles into the stadium-like floor of the ice rink. Several sets of movable stands lined both sides of the rink, a few people sitting in groups chatting on them. Below at the ends of each set of bleachers was a honeycomb of cubby holes for shoes, Minamo heading for them immediately.

Changing into their skates, Kagura looked at the pair skeptically once they were on her feet. She glanced up from her feet as Minamo laid a hand on her shoulder, "It's not as hard as it looks, just keep your ankles straight, or you'll risk rolling them if one of your skates tilts to the side." As Kagura carefully rose to her feet Minamo's hand slid down from her shoulder to grasp her hand.

Taking small steps, Kagura's cheeks were flushed as she made her way towards the ice. Removable plexiglass walls surrounded most of the rink, set up for hockey games no doubt, especially considering the markings and lines in the ice. Many other skaters were already out in the rink, though due to its size it was nowhere near overcrowded. Reaching the edge of the ice Minamo, without letting Kagura's hand go, stepped out onto the ice effortlessly, leaving the younger woman in awe. Taking Kagura's other hand as well, Minamo said in the same way she would when teaching any other sport, "Now just take it nice and easy. You move using the same sort of motion you use when rollerblading."

Slowly Minamo glided backwards to let Kagura step onto the ice, pulling her along gently as Kagura's feet wobbled slightly. They ventured along the edge of the rink in this position, Minamo leading with her hands still on Kagura's with no support, in case she started to fall.

Once they were far enough out on the ice, likely longer than Kagura needed her hand held, Minamo carefully released the other woman's hands and glided backwards around to stand beside Kagura, "See? You're getting steadier already." Minamo had, rightly, counted on Kagura's natural athletic ability to make skating easy for her.

Nodding, Kagura seemed more interested in Minamo at the moment, "I didn't know you could ice skate."

Gliding forward around Kagura, Minamo turned to face her again, smiling nostalgically, "Well, I haven't in a while, but I came here a lot when I visited my grandparents as a child. Try moving some more?"

Kagura snapped from her daze and nodded, the two beginning to skate slowly around the rink as most of the other patrons were with Minamo offering the occasional warning or tip as they moved. After a few circuits Kagura said with a smile as they neared the less crowded end of the rink, "Hey, can you do that quick-stop thing that sprays ice everywhere?"

Glancing to the younger girl, Minamo smiled obligingly, "You mean a 'hockey stop,' like this?" Taking a few quick steps to pick up speed she then turned sharply, causing her skates to send up a brief mist of ice as she came to an abrupt stop.

Kagura clapped, laughing, "Yeah, that's so cool!" Doing her best to imitate Minamo she lurched forward to pick up speed, then turning sharply as she passed Minamo. Unfortunately, she leaned too far into the stop, breaking the grip on the ice her skates had and causing her feet to come out from under her, sending her rear-first onto the ice with a yelp.

No sooner than she'd impacted the ice was Minamo behind her, hooking her arms under Kagura's to lift the girl to her feet, saying quickly, "Are you okay?"

Once Kagura was on her feet the older woman's hands had slid down to rest on her hips, causing Kagura's face to flush, making her far too conscious of how Minamo was pressed against her back, leaving her only able to nod in response.

Realizing where her hands were lingering caused Minamo to slip back quickly, holding her hands behind her back, volunteering unnecessarily, "Uh, the reason I haven't been skating lately is because I've had no one to go with since Yukari fell so many times in one night she couldn't sit down the next day. She's refused to go anywhere near an ice rink since then."

Kagura turned carefully to face Minamo, welcoming the conversational segue, "I wish there was an ice rink nearer home, this'd be great to do during the winter." The two began to move once more, falling into the crowd in the circle around the edge of the rink again.

They skated for another few hours, Minamo showing Kagura the ins-and-outs of the sport, as well as demonstrating some more advanced maneuvers, much to Kagura's enjoyment. The night slid by too quickly for Kagura's taste and both were tired enough from skating to admit it soon enough. After a short rest in the bleachers while they changed their shoes, they left the ice rink.

Back out on the street, the night air had a deep chill to it. The skating rink had hardly been warm, but outside of it the chilling winter breeze had free reign on the two women. Kagura glanced down as she heard Minamo shift the sacks with their skates to her other hand, sliding the now freed one into her coat pocket to warm. Moving her gaze up to the woman's face Kagura said, "You want me to take those for a bit, so you can warm your hands up?"

Glancing to the younger girl, Minamo smiled and shook her head, "No, it's fine. But…." She held her free hand out, "Give me your hand." Doing as told, Kagura's cheeks flushed when Minamo took hold of her hand, sliding their clasped together hands into her coat pocket. Though they didn't have to move any closer together than they already were, both suddenly were avoiding looking at the other, feeling more of a thrill than they likely should over such a miniscule secret as holding hands.

Both were happy to reach the comfort of Minamo's car and be saved from the polar wind outside, even though it required them to release the other's hand. Once the car started off Minamo began to guide them back out of Edogawa towards home. Instead of the painful silence from before they now listened to the radio, not having anything in particular to say to each other. Along the way back home they stopped and had a late dinner at a restaurant suggested by Minamo, who also noted Yukari had been the one who found the place. By the time the car made it back into their neighborhood, Kagura had dozed off, resting her head against the car's window. She was roused by Minamo touching her shoulder and speaking to her softly, causing Kagura to snap awake, disoriented.

With a gentle smile Minamo repeated, "We're home," adding, "Just a block or two from your house. I didn't want to get too close."

Getting her bearings once more, Kagura nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "Thanks…sorry I fell asleep." She stifled a yawn, looking to Minamo who waved off her apology as unnecessary, then saying, "I…really had fun tonight."

The older woman nodded in response, "I did too."

Her eyes drifting back to the dashboard of the car, Kagura said hesitantly, "Could we…could we do this again?"

Minamo's grip on the steering wheel shifted nervously, "Well, I-I don't see why not."

With a wide grin Kagura unbuckled her seatbelt, leaning across and kissing Minamo on the cheek. The girl paused as Minamo's hand caught her arm to keep her close, Minamo then turning and sharing a deeper kiss with her. Falling back into the seat, Kagura fidgeted anxiously, saying without wanting to, "good night," as she opened the car door. Minamo returned the parting words, the two waving at one another as Kagura started down the sidewalk away from the car. The girl out of sight, Minamo pulled away from the curb and headed back to her apartment.

Pulling her car into its spot in the parking garage, Minamo cut the engine, staying in place for a long moment with her hands resting on top of the steering wheel. Her gaze moved from an imaginary point past the wall of the parking garage to the car's rearview mirror, shifting to look at herself in it. She reached with one hand, touching her fingers to her lips softly, the feeling of the kiss lingering.

With her contemplation going nowhere she wanted it to Minamo took her keys, leaving the car after grabbing the ice skates from the back seat and locking it, making for her apartment. Arriving at the door and trying to unlock it, she found her key refused to turn the correct way, finally trying the door handle to discover it already unlocked. Pushing the door open, she peered inside hesitantly, her sudden tension waning as she found Yukari sitting at the living room table, watching TV.

Stepping through the door, Minamo let it snap shut behind her as she dropped the ice skates by the door and removed her coat and shoes, walking through the apartment to stand behind Yukari who failed to acknowledge her. After watching the woman for a minute Minamo said in a more agitated voice than intended, "What are you doing here?"

Glancing up, Yukari shrugged boredly, "The cable in my apartment was out. You were out with your girlfriend, anyway."

Taking a step back, Minamo said defensively, "She isn't my girlfriend, it wasn't—"

Minamo was silenced by a look of scrutiny from Yukari, "You took her out on a date."

Suddenly becoming avidly interested in the balcony door across the room, Minamo walked to it to avoid having to look Yukari in the eyes, "No, we weren't, it was just a…trial."

Rising to her feet, Yukari said loftily, "It was a _ménage à trios_, wasn't it?"

Minamo turned from looking out of the balcony door, snapping tersely, "You don't even know what that means!"

"I know it means you've been wasting time with that little hussy! We never spend any time together anymore because of her."

Bringing her hand up to press against her forehead, Minamo tried taking a deep breath, saying in a calmer voice, "Yukari, we went bar hopping _last night_. Now it's late, I'm going to bed, you're going home."

The other woman crossed her arms, huffing in exaggerated annoyance, "You're going to make me walk alone through the dark streets this late at night?"

Moving to take Yukari by the hand, yanking her to the door, Minamo said through gritted teeth, "You live two blocks away, now go."

After making a show of putting her shoes and coat on, Yukari left, having given Minamo a few more dirty looks for effect. Locking the door behind her friend, Minamo walked slowly back through the apartment, collapsing on the bed. With the loss of Yukari as a distraction her thoughts had shifted back to what they had been on before, causing her to bury her face in her pillow.

Her relationship with Kagura had progressed quickly and she could only assume it was because she and Kagura were comfortable with each other's presence long before the date had begun. Though the problem at this point was the fact the relationship was _progressing_, something Minamo hadn't intended. She hadn't intended to hold Kagura's hand. She hadn't intended to say 'yes' to another date. She certainly hadn't intended to kiss Kagura again. But she had done it all anyway without knowing why.

_End Chapter 7._

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Paranoia, paranoia, everybody's coming to get me... 

This chapter is _months_ past due. It's not like I just finished writing it the other day, as I've had the final draft done for quite a while now. Realizing I haven't updated the story in over five months makes me feel...like I don't know what happened there. The end of the last semester of college cracked down on me, with the leviathan that is Calculus III/IV attempting to consume my immortal soul, and that's part of what took so long. But then, I've been moved back home for well over a month now, which is how long the final draft has been done. I suppose I just hit a writer's block. I'm into Pen & Paper RPGs, and a bit after I finished chapter 6 for this story, I hit a sort of writer's block in that too. I solved the block on creating and running P&P games last week finally, thanks to Star Wars: Saga Edition, and I suppose the pent up buffer on this story sort of flowed out as well. Hopefully this means I'll be quicker with getting the next chapter written and ready.

For those of you who have ice skated before, I apologize for any details I botched there, as I've never done it myself. As always, I did do research on it, though one of the things I never did find much about was whether or not people just walked across concrete in their skates to get on the ice or not. I suppose that's a relatively minor detail to be worrying with, but, I'm usually meticulous about details. I suppose one good effect taking so long with this chapter had was the fact I watched the anime _Maria-sama ga Miteru, _which is where the idea for the hand-holding scene in this chapter came from. Also; someone working on the Marimite anime had a sick sense of humor. There is no other reason an anime that focuses on shoujo-ai relationships would open each episode with "**THE VIRGIN MARY IS WATCHING YOU**" in bold text...

As I usually give an update on other ideas for fanfics I've had in the mean time, the only one really hanging around is a Chizuru/Tatsuki/Orihime love-triangle Bleach fic. I'm currently reading through the Bleach manga, so, when I catch up to where the manga is still currently in-progress, we'll see what I have to work with there. Which, I do like this idea if I can reasonably bring it to fruition working from within canon.

Thank you to everyone who has been following this fic, and an extra thank you to those who have left reviews. The upcoming chapter, while not written yet, will be bringing Sakaki into the story more. It also will likely contain the climax for the Kagura/Nyamo pairing, though that's not to say the fic is drawing to a close just yet. And no, I don't mean "climax" to be a pun. And it probably says I have a dirty mind because I realized it could be taken as a pun.


	8. Warm Days: Chapter 8

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

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**Warm Days**

Chapter 8

Friday afternoon, the third week since Minamo and Kagura had been on their first date with one another. January had ended, February was here, and it was Valentine's Day. While most people would be sharing gifts with one another on this day itself, Kagura and Minamo had agreed to wait until the next day, Saturday, what had become their unofficial-official dating day.

As with the past three Fridays, Kagura found herself in the shopping district, searching for Sakaki. The two had never really arranged for it, but somehow they ran into each other at some point on this evening each week. Neither could explain why they really felt the need to be out alone, but they didn't pass up the chance for each other's company. The first two times they had spent the better part of the evening in the arcade, the third time had lead to an impromptu visit to the theater when they ran across Chiyo and Osaka in line for it.

Each time Kagura and Sakaki met either in front of the same toy store, or in the small playground at the end of the shopping district. As it had been the toy store the past week, Kagura immediately headed for the playground, finding Sakaki as expected. The taller girl was seated on a bench, a small sack of bird seed in her lap that she intermittently took pinches of to toss before her, the small snowbirds that spent their days scratching in the dirt happily descending on the easy meal.

From where she stood behind the bench Kagura could see how far Sakaki's hair cascaded down around the girl's shoulders, down to the back of the bench. The odd thought crossed her mind of how Sakaki could ever keep such long hair clean. Quietly she approached the bench, sliding into place on the vacant end, trying to avoid startling Sakaki this time as she usually did.

After a few moments of watching Sakaki feeding the snowbirds, Kagura said quietly, "So, did you give anyone chocolate today? Or get any?"

While the question had seemed innocent enough to Kagura, the dark look it brought over Sakaki's face seemed to say otherwise. The girl shook her head mournfully, her lips softly forming the word, "No."

Looking on in surprise, Kagura said much more loudly, causing the snowbirds to scatter, "None at all? You didn't even get any from Kaorin?" After a negative shake of Sakaki's head in response to the question, Kagura stepped back from the bench, holding her hands out to motion for Sakaki to remain in place, "Stay right there, I'll be right back." With that, she took off up the sidewalk in a dash.

Sakaki watched the athlete go, then turning her mournful gaze back to the flock of snowbirds reappearing one-by-one. It wasn't as if she had intended to go anywhere, anyway. Had she no obligations, she felt she would have spent the day in bed, hugging a stuffed animal and trying to repress the feeling of sadness that encroached upon her each year on this day.

Several minutes passed, Sakaki's focus remaining on the snowbirds to keep her mind at ease. She finally had her attention drawn away to the sound of Kagura returning. Looking up from the ground the tanned girl stood beside her once more, out of breath and holding out a simple red box. Catching her breath, Kagura said after a moment, "Here, for you."

For a second it was as if Sakaki couldn't comprehend the offer, or at least couldn't believe it had been made. After prompting by Kagura she reached and took the box, staring at it with wide eyes, saying in an almost soundless voice, "Th…thank you."

Stepping around the bench, Kagura plopped down on the other end, sighing as she undid her jacket, letting it hang open, "Can't let both of us go through the day without giving or getting anything. Though I guess it's a little backwards for you to _get_ something today." Kagura rested her head back over the top of the bench, "I guess I'm just backwards to give it to you." As an after thought she added, "You don't mind, do you?"

Sakaki shook her head, saying in the same almost soundless voice, "Not at all."

)-(-)-(

Saturday evening and Kagura was making the familiar trip to Minamo's apartment. She was later than usual, their date intending to be a simple viewing of a movie in Minamo's apartment. Kagura couldn't help but hum to herself, up until she reached the apartment door and knocked, holding her hands, and the box one held, behind her back.

There was a moment of silence while Kagura's bounced on the balls of her feet and the apartment door opened to reveal Minamo who smiled warmly and said, "Good evening, Kagura." She motioned for the girl to enter, Kagura nodding and responding to the greeting in turn as she stepped through the doorway, keeping herself facing Minamo as she removed her shoes.

Shutting the door, Minamo turned to Kagura once more as the girl wordlessly thrust out the neat red box she carried, a tinge of color coming to her face. Minamo smiled graciously, taking the box from her, "Thank you." She stepped over to the kitchen counter, setting the present down and pulling a drawer open, taking an identical box from it, holding it out to Kagura, "And for you."

The two laughed over their identical choice in gifts, Kagura setting her present by Minamo's on the counter, Minamo now motioned towards the living room, "Dinner is ready."

Stepping past the kitchen counter, the living room table came into view of Kagura, covered in a simple tablecloth and laden with take-out food that'd been moved from its containers to bowls and plates that made it look less inelegant than it normally would have. As the two stepped over to the table Minamo said with a hint of embarrassment, "I wanted to cook for us, but…I never was any good at it."

Looking to the older woman, Kagura smiled gratefully, "No, this is great." She took a seat on one of the pillows at the table, her smile widening to a full grin, "Besides, if you did something fancy like cooking a whole meal, I'd never be able to do anything to return the favor."

Taking her own seat, Minamo smiled humbly, "I suppose neither of us are the homemaker type."

Kagura sat back on her heels, "We'd make terrible wives, wouldn't we?" As soon as Kagura had spoken the words she felt the veil of embarrassment that was drawn over them by the mention of a venue neither had particularly considered, much less discussed.

Quick to break the uncomfortable silence Minamo said, "Well, let's dig in," Kagura nodding in agreement. They ate in silence, trying to ignore the still lingering awkward feeling over the suddenly realized nuance of their situation.

Finishing their meal, the two sat looking over the table, and the mostly emptied dish. Finally when neither had touched the food in a few minutes, Kagura said, "So, what're we watching tonight?" Their first movie-night date had been Kagura's film of choice. For this night it had taken some prodding by Kagura to convince Minamo to choose what they were to watch.

Retrieving a DVD case from beside the table Minamo held it out to Kagura who took it to examine. Now resting her elbows on the table with her hands clasped under her chin Minamo said self-consciously, "I guess it's kind of a sappy movie, but I've wanted to see it since it was in theatres."

After reading the back cover of the DVD case Kagura looked up to meet Minamo's eyes, grinning, "This is great, I've wanted to see this too, but, I've never really had any friends to see a romantic movie with." Her cheeks colored a bit, "I mean it's sort of something you're supposed to do with your boyfriend—or girlfriend…."

Before the sudden awkward statement could set in, Minamo rose to her feet, taking the DVD case back from Kagura, then going to her TV, "Let's get it started." Rising to her feet as well, Kagura nodded, heading over to the linen closet to retrieve the quilt they had cuddled under last time, passing over to cut the overhead light in the apartment off as well before returning to the bed. Minamo took the pillows they had sat on at the table, propping them up against the side of the bed, then sitting to lean against one, Kagura taking a seat beside her.

With the blanket unfolded and covering their legs, Minamo hit the button on the remote to start the movie, then setting it on the floor beside her and slipping her arm around Kagura who shifted to lie against her.

)-(-)-(

The end of the movie came finally, Kagura having been weeping openly ever since the climax, wiping her tears away with the corner of the blanket. While a few tears had gathered in the corners of Minamo's eyes, she had stoically borne through it otherwise. Once the credits had begun to roll Minamo took up the remote, stopping the DVD player. The apartment was plunged into darkness, only cut by the fluorescent light over the kitchen sink that remained lit, giving a weak glow to the opposite side of the apartment from where the two women sat.

For some time the two stayed in place, not wanting to move from the comfortable position they were in. Finally, Kagura said in a soft voice, "That was a good movie," receiving an agreement from Minamo. Shifting finally, the younger girl slid her arm from under the blanket, sliding up the sleeve of her sweater to check her watch. Lowering her arm once more, Kagura said suggestively, "There are still two hours before I have to be home…."

Looking up at the older woman, Minamo finally shifted to return her gaze, their eyes locking as they slowly leaned together, joining in a kiss. Both shifted further to situate themselves for better access at one another in their new activity. The blanket was tossed aside, Minamo nearly falling over as Kagura bore onto her to close the distance between their bodies. Somewhere in the back of Minamo's mind a voice was explaining in detail how wrong it was to do this, only to be ignored.

As their hands and lips moved over each other more fervently Kagura broke away suddenly, rising fully to her knees. Minamo shifting to rest back on her hands looked up at the girl, unsure of what was coming. In Kagura's mind she repeated constantly to herself what she had rehearsed. The past three weeks she had pored over teen magazines like she never had before. She knew her situation was a unique one, for more reasons than one. The fact she had had a long standing friendship with Minamo meant they hardly needed any time dating to get to know each other, so that part could be skipped.

This lead to the timetable for the physical side of their relationship, about to be pushed ahead a level here. From the magazines Kagura had decided it was time to move on to what she had seen called Second Base. As she had practiced in the bathroom mirror the past few days, Kagura carefully reached down and took the hem of her sweater in her hands, drawing it up over her head, tossing the article of clothing aside. This left her upper body clad in only a simple dark blue bra.

The effect on Minamo was instant; her eyes growing wide as they slowly fell from Kagura's face to the girl's body. There were no coherent thoughts in Minamo's mind as Kagura shifted to lean towards her again. Her hands came up automatically to rest on Kagura's hips, then sliding up the girl's sides as they fell into another kiss.

Now lost in passion Minamo moved her lips from Kagura's, taking to kissing across the girl's jaw line, then down the side of her neck. Moving down to kiss at Kagura's collarbone, Minamo snaked one hand around the girl's back, running a finger under the bra strap there, causing her to shiver. Minamo's other hand came up to the girl's chest, ready to pull the bra away. Her fingers curled under the hooks, pushing them away, causing the garment to spring free. The sudden release elicited a gasp from Kagura, the girl then groaning out softly, "Ms. Kurosawa…."

Despite how quiet and ignorable the words were, despite how enthralled Minamo was, it was like a slap to the face for her. Suddenly brought back to reality, Minamo released her hands from Kagura, jerking away like she'd been burned. The two stared at one another, equally surprised. Minamo's eyes fell once more to Kagura's chest, the bra limpy hanging over it, causing Minamo to turn quickly to face the patio door, saying in a frightened voice, "We can't do this!"

Rising to her knees, Kagura held one arm across her chest to keep the bra in place, reaching with her other hand to touch Minamo's shoulder. The older woman recoiled once more, hugging herself and keeping her back to Kagura, "It's gone too far—this wasn't supposed to happen…."

Shifting to sit back on her heels Kagura said in a wounded voice, "Wasn't supposed to happen?"

Only daring to look at the girl's reflection in the patio door momentarily, Minamo had to force her voice to stay steady, "I shouldn't have lead you on like this, I'm sorry. I just…got so caught up in it, and I shouldn't have. I wasn't trying to play with your feelings…."

Kagura picked up her discarded sweater, clutching it to her chest and wiping tears on one of its sleeves, "I thought you really liked me…."

Risking looking at the girl directly Minamo turned, saying in an anxious voice, "I do—it's just, the position we're in right now." She had to force her eyes not to stray from Kagura's face as she continued, "If anyone found out about us, it could ruin both our lives…." The look she received from Kagura said the girl wanted to respond with something defiant. Thinking quickly, Minamo added as a compromise, "It's only a few months before you graduate high school, and go to college. Maybe then we could try this again…." Before Kagura could respond Minamo added further, "But in the mean time, I want you to look for someone else, someone closer to your age, okay?"

The look of rebelliousness left Kagura's face, replaced by a thoughtful expression, "I guess that would work…. You should look for someone else, too." There was a moment of silence, Minamo unsure of how to respond to the suggestion, being spared the awkward feeling coming on by Kagura adding, "Can we still go ice skating together?"

Minamo's look of worry softened to a slight smile, "I don't see why not, I mean, there's nothing wrong with us going ice skating together…."

Kagura nodded in agreement, toying with the sleeve of her sweater, "Can we still watch movies together?"

Giving a small laugh, Minamo nodded, "Sure, just…as long as we don't take our shirts off afterwards?"

The reminder caused Kagura's cheeks to redden and she quickly re-did her bra and pulled her sweater over her head, wriggling back into it.

As the girl fidgeted with the sweater, arms above her head, Minamo's eyes reflexively tracked down to her currently exposed bust, returning a wave of guilt to Minamo's mind and causing her to look away quickly until Kagura was once more fully dressed.

With her sweater back on, Kagura patted down her hair, despite it being too short for the article of clothing to rough up. She got to her feet, watching a point on the floor between her and Minamo as she said, "Well, I guess I should go…."

Minamo nodded, rising to her feet as well, saying as the two walked to the apartment door, "It was fun…well, up to the last part, anyway."

Pulling on her jacket and stepping into her shoes, Kagura then turned to look at Minamo, starting to lean in towards her before catching herself. The two women's eyes locked, and both felt a sudden pang of loss, despite the necessity of it. Kagura turned away, opening the door, saying over her shoulder, "I'll, uh, see you at school Monday."

Holding the door open once Kagura was out of it the two exchanged farewells, Minamo then letting the door swing shut, turning to lean back against it, rubbing her forehead with one hand wearily. She raised her other hand, watching as she made a grasping motion with her fingers, the feel of Kagura's curves lingering on them. She made a tight fist to try to drown out the feeling, lowering her hand to her side and switching her mind to chiding herself over the idea of her finding someone else. Despite how she had repeatedly noted to both Yukari and her mother that was she was looking for a husband, in the back of her mind she knew it was a lie. While she had a few flings with men, it was never something she wanted to extend past that. A few months of dating, and the relationship would stall—assuming Yukari hadn't chased the man off before then. It was all an exercise in futility.

Minamo was torn from her thoughts as someone beat on the apartment door roughly. She was almost afraid to look through the peekhole in the door, trying to think of why Kagura would return. It somehow surprised her to see Yukari through it instead. Opening the door, Minamo peered out at her friend, who held a furious stance, arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping in agitation

_End Chapter 8._

* * *

Merry Christmas from Chiron Beta Prime. We're a day behind here, so I totally got this posted on Christmas Day still! 

Ahem. Guh, five months again. At the start of August, I say to myself, "I should be able to have this finished in another month." Then suddenly it's the end of the semester and I'm moving out of my dorm for winter break. At least next semester is shaping up to be less of a maelstrom of school work. If only because I won't have three lab reports due each week...

Anyway, this was originally intended to be _two_ chapters, but the first scene with Sakaki just never matured past a short vignette with her to set up for a later chapter. That was my biggest roadblock on getting this chapter done. Which, I guess it stopped the chapter from ever being done, as I finally just posted it as a short bit before what should have been chapter 9. As noted in my author's notes for the seventh chapter, this one contains the dénouement for Kagura and Minamo's relationship, which is the _other_ big roadblock as I re-wrote the intimate scene between them from scratch no less than five times. Mostly because I kept waffling on whether or not I was being too lurid, though in the end I think it actually came out more risqué than it started as... Still, this is the most graphic scene you're going to see in this fanfic by far. You'll also noticed I ended the chapter in a bit of a cliff hanger, which was also because of the roadblock that was the conversation between Yukari and Minamo. Still working on that, and considering adding in a flashback to their high school days, so the conversation is starting to become a chapter in its own right. While I guess I've been inadvertently swapping between chapters with Minamo and chapters with Sakaki, I suppose the cliff hanger will sort of shake that up.

So, other fanfic news from me. I've read all of the Bleach manga up to chapter 300 or so. The start of the Hueco Mundo arc has given me a prime opening for a Chizuru/Orihime/Tatsuki love triangle fanfic. It mostly revolves around the fact that Tatsuki totally gets left out in the rain when everyone else is off to Hueco Mundo without telling her anything and Chizuru attempting to comfort her in her time of loneliness, if only because she too misses Orihime. That, however still is in my pot of ideas without physical form yet. I don't yet have a particular plot it covers in mind, just a group of scenes for it to cover. I'll see if I can't shake out an actual fanfic from those scenes.

Past that, my forehead has split open and an Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic has sprung forth fully formed and mature. ... Actually, this idea has been in the back of my mind for months. It just at some point has gotten loose. If even mentioned it at the end of an earlier chapter, though then I just advertised it as a "Sokka torturefic." Well, I guess it's _somewhat_ still that, but it's more focused on a Toph/Sokka relationship (dare I say "Tokka"?). Yeah, a straight pairing from me is pretty odd, I know (though I remedy this with some peripheral same-sex pairings, including one key to the plot!). The fanfic had already been partially written when the first half of season 3 premiered, at which point I shunted it to the Dead Story folder on grounds I was too far off canon for my liking with it now. Then a friend lovingly made several suggestions for how I could easily bring it back in line with the current canon. Which is where it is now. As I said, it's pretty much ready to post. Just need to proofread and finish formatting the first chapter. I suppose as a preview, I'll say this;

It takes place six years after the series. In that time, the Fire Nation's empire has been disassembled, and the rebuilding process throughout the Earth Kingdom and rest of the world is underway. Aang, and his eventual wife Katara, have spent the majority of that time, along with Toph and occasionally others, roaming the continent to help with rebuilding. Sokka, however, has taken a sabbatical, living as a vagabond after becoming dejected and lost over the death of Suki at the order of princess Azula. After six years, his friends and family have finally stopped in one place so he can actually catch up to them; Omashu. Watch as he attempts to mend his ties with his friends once more, as well as discover new ties some of them would like to make with him, whether he likes it or not...

Yeah, okay, probably not using that as the summary, but still!

Thanks to all of my readers out there, and an extra thanks to the ones that have left reviews. While I'd like to say the next chapter won't take five months to finish, I can't in good conscience promise that after it's happened twice now. I'll do my best to finish it up earlier, though. Thanks for reading, catch you on the flip side.


	9. Warm Days: Chapter 9

Wordlessly Minamo stepped back to hold the door open, Yukari stalking inside, turning to face Minamo as the door shut, saying with thinly veiled animosity, "So have you stopped even going places with her, and just bring her back here to screw like rabbits right off?"

Her cheeks reddening, Minamo gawked for a moment before managing to say, "We don't—are you _stalking_ me?"

Ignoring the question, Yukari began to pace menacingly, "What'd you get her for Valentine's Day? Sexy black lingerie, for her to prance around in front of you in? Or do you make her stick with simple white undies, so she has that innocent school girl look?"

The only interjection Minamo could manage was, "They were _blue,_" realizing a moment to late the mistake of saying it.

Turning to her suddenly Yukari thrust a finger in her face, saying with conviction, "_Ah-ha!_ You _have_ gotten her clothes off! I can't believe you!"

Her cheeks red with shame, Minamo had backed against the apartment door, still trying to defend herself with, "It was a mistake, it was just her sweater—we didn't go any further!"

Yukari scoffed, grabbing for the door handle, "Like I could believe that. I'm going to end this right now, by telling her parents."

The sudden fear of being exposed chilled Minamo to the core, causing her to reflexively grab Yukari, shoving the woman away from the door, "You can't do that, it'd ruin everything for both of us!" Not about to let herself be deterred, Yukari tried to pry herself from Minamo's grip, the two ending up wrestling around until they both tripped over the carpet where it began just past the door.

Where they landed Yukari was sprawled on her back, Minamo straddling over her. The look on Yukari's face changed, from one of fervor to a look of mischievousness as she suddenly said loudly, "Help, help, I'm being raped!"

Scrambling off the other woman, Minamo slid back against the wall, yelling to drown Yukari's words out, "Don't say that! I would _never_ do that to you—or anyone else!"

Sitting up, Yukari said in a suddenly insulted voice, "Why not?"

Dumbfounded, Minamo could only repeat the question herself, "Why not?"

Yukari rose to her feet, straightening her clothes, "Yeah, what's she got that I don't? Is it because she's insecure? The whole," Yukari clasped her hands together pleadingly, "'oh please, teacher, show me' thing?"

Looking disgusted, Minamo quickly shot back, "That's not it! It's…she _asked_, that's all."

Staring her down, Yukari then said, "_That's_ the trick? You don't have any initiative of your own, so someone has to ask _you_? All this time you just haven't had the _nerve_ to ask me out directly?"

Her mouth gaping open repeatedly like a fish, Minamo could only manage to say, "_What?_"

Yukari began to pace, gesturing overdramatically, "You managed to work up the nerve to leave a note in my locker in high school, and then you didn't have the guts to actually _ask_ me out afterwards?"

Still gaping, after a moment Minamo said, "You _laughed at me!_"

Shrugging, Yukari chuckled, "Of course I laughed at you! You put a love letter in my locker, it's the dorkiest thing I've ever _seen_!"

Her face reddening, Minamo said defensively, "It's not dorky! I was testing the waters!" She paused a moment, the ramifications of what Yukari said finally fully reaching her, "Wait, you _wanted_ me to ask you out?"

Yukari looked at her, seriously for once, "Duh?"

Falling back against the door distraughtly, Minamo had to take a moment to collect herself, finally managing to say, "But…how can, you can't be gay, you go out with guys!"

Chuckling knowingly, Yukari shrugged, "So do you. Why does it have to be one _or_ the other? Besides, I do it so my parents think I'm interested. You think they'd let me borrow their car if they _didn't_ think I was going out on a date with a guy in it?" She made a grasping motion at her chin, "It's called a 'beard' when guys do it."

Lifting herself off of the door, Minamo walked towards her bed, only managing to mutter, "I…I need to sit down…." Plopping herself down on the edge of the bed she stared at her knees, still trying to process the rush of information from Yukari. "So you've just…been scaring guys off on purpose?"

Walking over to her friend, Yukari rolled her eyes, "Not really, I'm not going to put on an act like you do to attract a guy. If they don't like me for who I am, then that's their problem."

Looking up from her knees, Minamo couldn't help but respond back, "_No_ one likes _you_ for who you are."

With a smirk of triumph, Yukari took a seat on the edge of the bed, "Except you, Nyamo."

Her eyes moving back to her knees, Minamo sat quietly, realizing just how deeply she had to care for Yukari to put up with all of the woman's faults and idiosyncrasies. After a few short minutes Minamo's epiphany was interrupted by the sound of the TV, causing her to look up in surprise to see Yukari sitting at the table she had moved back to the middle of the room, remote in hand. The sudden break of thought caused Minamo to say agitatedly, "What are you _doing_?"

Glancing back lazily, Yukari said as if it were obvious, "The cable in my apartment is still out. Why do you think I came over here in the first place?"

Staring all but distraughtly at Yukari, Minamo shook her head with a sigh, giving up on trying to figure out Yukari's underlying motives for the moment. She rose to her feet, moving over to kneel beside Yukari, pulling her into a hug. Yukari for her part put an arm around Minamo, despite not taking her eyes off of the TV.

_End Chapter 9._

* * *

A meager offering from a humble fanfic author.

So, it's been a year. Where has time gone? Ah, right, into my school work. Since the last chapter I posted I've applied for grad school, been accepted, finish my Bachelor's of Science in Chemistry, and entered into grad school, where I just finished my first semester a week ago. So I've finally had a chance to breathe, and work on this fanfic some more. Given, I've had this 'chapter' (and I am loathe to call it that) near finished for a while yet, and just never posted it. I see in my notes at the end of the _last_ chapter I had said I was considering expanding on this bit with a flashback, but never did. Eh, I just couldn't see how to fit it in.

Anyway, I actually know where the next bit of the fic is going mostly, and am hoping to _not_ take a year to finish the _next_ chapter, gods willing. I would've gotten more done earlier, but I got deeply involved in a Pen & Paper RPG I was running that was a hideous chimera created from a collision of ideas taken from various anime, from Blood+ to Trinity Blood to Hellsing to Magical Pokaan to Witch Hunter Robin and pretty much anything even vaguely similar to those. I quite liked it, and it's currently on a 'season break' after the conclusion of the first story arc. I'll be starting up the second major story arc as soon as Heroquest 2.0 comes out. In the mean time I'm running a Dungeons & Dragons 4e game that's sort of a spin-off of that game, but set in a more conventional fantasy world (a friend described it as a 'Gaslight Romance,' which is essentially a Crapsack World [see TVTropes] iteration of Victorian England).

So yeah, past this, that Avatar fic I mentioned in the last chapter's notes is dead and gone. Killed by the third season of Avatar disproving every single prediction I made or even vaguely considered for it. Except for the part where Zuko and Mai hook up, but that wasn't that big of one. The Bleach fanfic idea has gone nowhere, I can see a short little bit, but can't be arsed to actually do anything with the idea. That and Bleach in I've sort of lost interest in as the Hueco Mundo arc bogs down. Actually, the nega-chapters are what soured me. Anyway, current idea for a fic other than this one is a Naruto fanfic.

Not exactly a new concept for a Naruto fanfic, but I've been tempted to throw my hat into the ring and write a Naruko fanfic. So we'll see how that pans out! I've even got some flunkies to check and make sure I'm not violating continuity in ways I didn't mean to! Just need to figure out some individual scenes, and how to weave it into the manga's actual story (as I don't want it to interfere with/re-write any **actual** plot elements, but work amongst them during 'blind' spots instead).

So, thanks to all my readers out there, please by all means keep reading!

A belated Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy New Years. Alongside keeping a better lab notebook I shall add updating this fanfic in a more timely manner to my list of New Year's Resolutions!


	10. Warm Days: Chapter 10

I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with _Azumanga Daioh_.

Author's Notes and replies to reviews are at the end of the chapter.

* * *

**Warm Days**

Chapter 10

Sunday and then most of Monday had been uneventful for Kagura. The largest oddity was Yomi wearing a scarf that covered her entire neck all day at school, insisting it was necessary to help her get over a sore throat she had developed over the weekend. The way Tomo would snicker any time attention was drawn to the scarf had given Kagura an idea of just what the two had done to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Past that, Kagura had felt bored, and almost annoyed with her **lack** of emotion for her situation. What had happened the past Saturday felt like it should upset her, yet it didn't. It was like she had been dumped back out into the world of the mundane, released from the secret she thought she would have to bear for months, if not years. After all of her weeks of strange thoughts, dreams, and even stranger twists in her first relationship, it was over. She had explored the possibility of being a lesbian, and had somehow…moved on? It looked like her only chance at it had been doomed from the start, and had lead her to a new introspection; was it women she was even attracted to, or just Ms. Kurosawa?

After the bell for their last class had rung, Kagura had hung back, letting most of the other students leave ahead of her. She had sent her friends on ahead as well, needing to hang around to ask the teacher questions about their homework. Once most of the other students had filtered out of the school Kagura had finally made her way out of the classroom. The one thing that nagged in her mind still was the idea of just what she had missed out on with Ms. Kurosawa, if they had gone all of the way. Sex had never been something she was preoccupied with, but she couldn't deny a certain curiosity, especially after the time during summer vacation when Ms. Kurosawa had divulged all the secrets she could imagine to it…

Her inner thoughts were halted as she stepped into the school foyer to retrieve her shoes from their cubby hole. Few students were still there, leaving her to see clearly that a tidy red box not unlike the generic box Valentine's Day candy was given in had been perched atop her sneakers. Setting her bag down on the bench that ran the center of the room, she reached for the box, sliding it out, and then noticing an envelope lay on its lid. Holding the box with one hand and the envelope down with her thumb, she carefully opened the unsealed back with her other hand, sliding the Valentine's Day card out. The card was a store-bought cheesy number with a teddy bear on the cover. Opening the card, inside along with the punchline of the cover's joke was written simply, "Happy Valentine's Day, dyke."

There was a moment when the world felt like it went silent for Kagura, and she had to re-read the words to be sure she even comprehended them. The silence was broken by the derisive giggling of girls standing at the back corner of the room, disappearing down the hall as Kagura turned to look at them, rage boiling up in her. Crushing the card in her hand, Kagura hurled the card, along with the box, squarely into the small waste can by the door. She grabbed her shoes out of the cubbyhole, not bothering to even exchange them for her school shoes, barely remembering to grab her school bag as she stormed out.

The emotions tracking through her mind ran the gamut from imaginatively homicidal rage to bawling depression. The only thing keeping her from breaking down crying was her inability to sort those emotions out currently. She barely noticed as she walked that Sakaki was jogging towards her, headed back towards the school. Not wanting to risk a familiar face causing a full on break down, Kagura looked away, her face still contorted in rage as she walked past, wanting nothing more than to get to the comfort and security of her bedroom so she could cry her eyes out in privacy.

* * *

Arriving home Kagura slipped into the drill she had all but perfected in the month past, holding in her tears until she had lost her school bag and coat—and sneakers—just inside the door before making for the sanctuary of her bedroom. She threw herself face down on the bed, hugging the large pillow at its head as she cried into it, not wanting to ever leave her bedroom again. It was several hours before she stirred again, finally disturbed from the slumber she'd fallen into by her bedroom door opening. Reflexively she pushed herself up on the bed, squinting painfully from the bright light from above assaulting her still teary eyes.

Her mother was standing in the threshold of the door, telling her it was time for dinner, giving pause to seeing Kagura in her current state. Quickly Kagura wiped her tears away on the sleeve of her school uniform, rising to her feet to go wash up in the bathroom, keeping her gaze down shamefully and away from that of her mother.

After taking her time to wash up, Kagura joined her parents for an all but painful dinner. Despite moving her food constantly very little of it was taken to her mouth, instead shifted around on the plate before her. Her parents were quiet, which unnerved Kagura. It was hardly the first time she had come home crying from school—even because of the problems with her sexuality. Normally her parents were quick to ask her what was wrong, and comfort her. This time they were silent, giving Kagura the feeling they could see the same elephant in the room that she could.

By the time she had managed to make her serving of dinner circumnavigate her plate entirely she finally asked permission to be excused, on her feet before either of her parents could respond, already halfway to her room when her mother's voice caught up to her, calling her back to the table so they could talk.

Stopping in her tracks, Kagura glanced back over her shoulder, feeling a chill run up her spine as she met the eyes of her mother and father, quickly looking away to her own feet as she trudged back to the table, plopping herself down again.

The tense silence that fell over them was broken finally by her mother, watching Kagura carefully as she said, "A few weeks ago I was called to your school by your guidance counselor. She told me about the horrible rumors that had been circulating about you."

Despite fully expecting it, Kagura couldn't help but be chilled to the core by her mother voicing the exact knowledge she had hoped her parents would never hear about. She kept her eyes down on her nearly untouched plate, her hands tightening on the hem of her skirt as she fought to keep her composure as her mother continued, "Your father and I agreed not to say anything at first, since you seemed like you were coping with it…until today."

Her father cut in, saying over the edge of one of his evening cans of beer, "We decided that we'd just come clean, so you didn't feel like you had to hide it from us, and take some of the burden off your back."

Still keeping her hands gripped on the hem on her skirt, Kagura chanced a glance up to her father and mother, feeling a small glimmer of hope that all her fears over the reaction to her situation were exaggerated in her mind. Her thoughts fluttered about as she tried to think of what to say, what to tell them.

Her confession was stopped cold as her mother added, "And we want you to know that we don't believe those silly rumors about you being gay for a second." Her father, sipping from his beer again, adding, "Or you having an affair with a teacher. It's horrible kids are going around sparking rumors like this. It's not like they're still in middle school."

Kagura's heart sank—or more accurately, felt like it had, still beating, been cut from her chest, the void left filling with guilt and terror. She felt numb, and even more embarrassed that she had for a brief moment thought her parents understood, when they couldn't possibly know what she was thinking and feeling if they didn't make it clear. She was quickly detaching herself from the situation, her mind shutting down as she failed to come to think of anything to respond with. Mechanically she nodded, feeling like she lied as she thanked them for their understanding.

Again Kagura asked to be excused, getting permission granted this time. Rising to her feet, she turned and strolled to her bedroom. As the door shut behind her she leaned back against it, staring across the room at the blinded window. She didn't want to cry, a first for her.

After a moment of silent contemplation she went to her closet, her dreamlike state barely interrupted as she changed into her jogging clothes, telling her parents where she was going as she left the house. Stepping out into the cool night air she surveyed the nearly empty street, watching a single car slowly plod by.

Jogging always helped her think. Which meant it offered little to her when she couldn't gather her thoughts enough to have anything to think about. She had to try to think about her situation, work out all the nuances of it, what had happened, what could have happened, what people knew had happened, and what people thought had happened.

She and Minamo were the only ones to know there was any shred of truth to the rumors of their relationship. Kagura knew Minamo would never breathe a word of what had transpired between them—if only for her own sake. At the same time the fact that she was…could be…gay in general was still only known by her. It could easily have been assumed by Minamo, but nothing had been ruled out on that front…

By the time she made a loop around the couple of blocks surrounding her house her muscles had begun to burn, and she wanted to clear her mind with a shower, then go to sleep. As she entered the house she tried to be as quiet as possible, even though she had to pass within plain sight of her parents to reach the bathroom. After stripping off her insulating husk she was quickly in the shower, cutting the water up as hot as it would go, keeping her head down so the water could run over it and down her back.

As the water ran over her head she heard a repeated rapping sound, finally leaning back from the shower's spray to call out to the person at the door over its din. Her mother's voice responded, saying, "Kagura, are you okay? You've been in there for half an hour."

It was only now Kagura had realized the water had cooled substantially, prompting her to call back that she was fine, then quickly wash herself before leaving the shower and preparing for bed. As she left the bathroom her father quickly pushed past her into it, citing too much beer as the reason for urgency.

Only mumbling a 'goodnight' as she passed by him, Kagura entered her bedroom, shutting the door behind her and quickly crawling into her bed. Her pillow had dried from her tears earlier, at least, and she buried her face in it again. Instead of crying she just lay quiet and still, trying to fend off the thoughts that had come flooding back to her after leaving the shower.

* * *

Hello.

So, been a while. Been busy, been staring at the draft of this chapter and the next in my manuscript file. I've read over it enough I can't find any real changes to make, so, might as well go ahead and post it.

Merry Christmas.

Next chapter will come somewhere before 2012, I promise. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Have a bit of free time now while everything is winding down for the holidays.


End file.
